February 22nd, 2016

CNN POLITICS KICKS OFF ELECTION YEAR AS THE NO. 1 SOURCE FOR POLITICAL NEWS

CNN Politics kicked off the 2016 election year as the dominant leader in political news. Earning a record 26 million multiplatform unique visitors in January 2016, CNN outranked all other competitors and recorded staggering triple-digit growth compared to January 2015. In the month leading up to the nation’s first primaries and caucuses, audiences flocked to CNN for its expert coverage and analysis of the race for the White House.

Outperforming all competitors in comScore’s Politics Category, CNN Politics bested second-place HuffPost Politics — a site that pads its traffic with more than 6 million unique visitors per month from “HuffPost Good News,” a decidedly non-politics entity — and maintained its position as the Web’s number one source for political news.

In January 2016:

CNN Politics: #1 Multiplatform Unique Visitors (Desktop + Mobile)

CNN Politics saw a record 26 million unique visitors in January 2016, 150% more visitors than the prior year and roughly 7 million more than HuffPost Politics (without the addition of Good News traffic). CNN more than doubled the number of visitors to Fox News Politics and MSNBC TV.

26 mm: CNN Politics

  • 25 mm: HuffPost Politics & Good News (6.2 mm)
  • 13 mm: Fox News Politics
  • 12 mm: MSNBC TV
  • 11 mm: Politico.com
  • 11 mm: TheHill.com

comScore Multiplatform Media Metrix and Video Metrix, January 2015 – January 2016. Based on News/Information – Politics Category.

CNN Politics: #1 in Video Starts

CNN Politics posted over 55 million video starts in January — a staggering 485% over the prior year and more than double that of The Young Turks Network and triple the video starts of Fox News Politics and MSNBC TV.

55 mm: CNN Politics

  • 22 mm: The TYT Network
  • 17 mm: Fox News Politics
  • 16 mm: MSNBC TV
  • 6 mm: Bloomberg.com – Politics
  • 2 mm: HuffPost Politics & Good News (177k)

Source: comScore Video Metrix, January 2016. Based on News/Information – Politics Category.

CNN Politics: #1 in Multiplatform Minutes Spent

Shattering minutes spent by 247% year over year, CNN Politics’ 441 million minutes of user engagement easily topped all other outlets in the Politics Category.

441 mm: CNN Politics

  • 235 mm: Fox News Politics
  • 227 mm: MSNBC TV
  • 131 mm: HuffPost Politics & Good News (17 mm)
  • 83 mm: Politico.com
  • 78 mm: Real Clear Politics

Source: comScore Multiplatform Media Metrix January 2015 – January 2016. Based on News/Information – Politics Category.

CNN Politics: #1 in Multiplatform Views

Scoring 170 million multiplatform views, CNN Politics earned the top spot for January 2016. Up 265% over the prior year, CNN Politics nearly doubled its closest competitor HuffPost Politics and Good News and outperformed third place Politico.com by almost 100 million views.

170 mm: CNN Politics

  • 90 mm: HuffPost Politics & Good News (12 mm)
  • 72 mm: Politico.com
  • 70 mm: Fox News Politics
  • 67 mm: Westernjournalism.com
  • 65 mm: MSNBC TV

Source: comScore Multiplatform, January 2016; Views are browser only and include desktop video. Based on News/Information – Politics Category.