CNN Tops All Digital Competitors In February 2021
#1 AGAIN IN GLOBAL, U.S. UNIQUE VISITORS, MOBILE, VIDEO, YOUNG ADULTS & POLITICS
ONLY NEWS OUTLET THAT REACHED MORE THAN 100 MILLION UNIQUE USERS IN THE U.S. IN FEBRUARY
CNN continued its streak as the #1 digital news outlet, according to Comscore’s latest data from February and January 2021. February and January 2021 traffic illustrated sustained global audience interest and a desire for trusted, and reliable information after months of record breaking global news cycles. 149 million unique domestic multiplatform visitors came to CNN in February 2021 – up over February 2020, and one of the few outlets that grew year-over-year, with NBCNews.com (-0.1% YoY), New York Times Brand (-19% YoY), Washington Post (-10% YoY), and FoxNews.com (-25% YoY) all falling from February 2020. CNN was also the only domestic news brand with more than 100 million unique domestic multiplatform visitors.
CNN has held the #1 ranking for more than 4 consecutive years for U.S. unique visitors, and for more than one year for global unique visitors, and also holds the #1 position in the key categories of mobile unique visitors, video unique viewers, and young adult unique visitors (January 2021 data is the most current available for global traffic rankings).
#1 IN GLOBAL DIGITAL NEWS IN JANUARY 2021
CNN reached more global unique visitors than any other news platform in the world in January 2021, with 230 million unique multiplatform visitors (January 2021 data is the most current available).
1. CNN.com – 230 Million Multiplatform Unique Visitors in January 2021
2. BBC – 205 million unique visitors
3. Yahoo News – 153 million unique visitors
4. The New York Times Brand – 139 million unique visitors
5. WashingtonPost.com – 133 million unique visitors
Source: Comscore MMX® Multi-Platform, Custom-Defined List, Total Digital Audience, January 2021, Worldwide Rollup. Based on CNN.com entity compared to a custom list of single brand, English-language, global competitors in the News/Information Category, including The United States, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Vietnam. CNN Brand entity used prior to October 2018. (January 2021 data is the most current available).
#1 IN U.S. MULTIPLATFORM UNIQUE VISITORS IN FEBRUARY 2021
CNN saw 149 million unique multiplatform visitors domestically in February 2021 – up by 6.6 million vs. February 2020 (+5%). CNN was also one of the few outlets that grew year-over-year, with NBCNews.com (-0.1% YoY), New York Times Brand (-19% YoY), Washington Post (-10% YoY), and FoxNews.com (-25% YoY) all falling from February 2020.
1. CNN.com – 149 Million Multiplatform Unique Visitors in February 2021
2. NBCNews.com – 95 million unique visitors
3. The New York Times Brand – 92 million unique visitors
4. WashingtonPost.com – 85 million unique visitors
5. FoxNews.com – 81 million unique visitors
Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Custom-Defined List, Total Digital Audience – Desktop Persons 2+ and Total Mobile Persons 13+, February 2021, U.S. Based on CNN.com entity compared to a custom list of single brand competitors that are also in the News/Information Category. CNN Brand entity used prior to October 2018.
#1 IN MOBILE UNIQUE VISITORS IN FEBRUARY 2021
CNN saw 130 million mobile unique visitors in February 2021, over two straight years of more than 100 million unique visitors coming to CNN exclusively on mobile platforms.
1. CNN.com – 130 Million Mobile Unique Visitors in February 2021
2. NBCNews.com – 83 million mobile unique visitors
3. The New York Times Brand – 79 million mobile unique visitors
4. WashingtonPost.com – 74 million mobile unique visitors
5. USAToday.com – 73 million mobile unique visitors
Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Custom-Defined List, Total Mobile Persons 13+, February 2021, U.S. Based on CNN.com entity compared to a custom list of single brand competitors that are also in the News/Information Category. CNN Brand entity used prior to October 2018. Historical claim based on Comscore Mobile Metrix®, Custom-Defined List, Total Mobile Persons 13+, U.S. for October 2020 and prior months.
#1 IN UNIQUE VIDEO VIEWERS IN JANUARY 2021
CNN’s lead in video continued in January 2021 with 68 million unique video viewers (January 2021 data is the most current available). Of news outlets, CNN has been ranked #1 in unique video viewers since the metric was introduced more than 4 years ago. With more unique video viewers and minutes spent than on any other news publisher, CNN continues to deliver users the most engaging video experience. CNN was the fifth-largest entity within the overall digital video ranking in January 2021, following only YouTube, Hulu, Vevo and Google, making CNN the largest original video publisher. (January 2021 data is the most current available)
1. CNN.com – 68 Million Multiplatform Video Unique Viewers in January 2021
2. NBCNews.com – 42 million unique video viewers
3. FoxNews.com – 34.1 million unique video viewers
4. ABCNews.com Sites – 33.6 million unique video viewers
5. Yahoo News – 28 million unique video viewers
Source: Comscore Video Metrix®, Custom-Defined List, Total Audience – Desktop Persons 2+ and Total Mobile Persons 18+ and OTT Persons 2+ where tagged, January 2021, U.S. Based on CNN.com entity compared to a custom list of single brand competitors that are also in the News/Information Category CNN Brand entity used prior to February 2018.
#1 IN YOUNG ADULTS REACH IN FEBRUARY 2021
CNN ranked again as the largest news brand accessed by young adults (defined as users between the ages of 18-34) with 36 million unique young adult multiplatform visitors in February 2021.
1. CNN.com – 36 Million Young Adult Unique Multiplatform Visitors in February 2021
2. The New York Times Brand – 25 million young adult unique visitors
3. NBCNews.com – 21.4 million young adult unique visitors
4. WashingtonPost.com – 20.8 million young adult unique visitors
5. USAToday.com – 18 million young adult unique visitors
Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, Custom-Defined List, Total Digital Audience Persons 18-34, February 2021, U.S. Based on CNN.com entity compared to a custom list of single brand competitors in the News/Information Category. CNN Brand entity used prior to October 2018.
#1 POLITICAL NEWS SOURCE IN FEBRUARY 2021
CNN Politics continued its five-year streak at #1 in February with 66 million multiplatform unique visitors. CNN Politics has been the #1 online political news outlet in unique visitors since February 2016.
1. CNN Politics – 66 Million Multiplatform Unique Visitors in February 2021
2. TheHill.com – 41 million unique visitors
3. Politico – 39 million unique visitors
4. Fox News Politics – 21 million unique visitors
5. NBCNews.com Politics – 17 million unique visitors
Source: Comscore Media Metrix® Multi-Platform, News/Information – Politics, Total Digital Audience – Desktop 2+ and Total Mobile 13+, February 2021, U.S.
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