{"id":39520,"date":"2022-05-16T05:00:32","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T05:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.similarweb.dev\/corp\/?p=39520"},"modified":"2025-03-25T10:15:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T10:15:56","slug":"news-industry-benchmarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.similarweb.com\/blog\/research\/business-benchmarking\/news-industry-benchmarks\/","title":{"rendered":"Benchmarks for Digital Publishers & News Sites"},"content":{"rendered":"

When was the last time you picked up a newspaper?<\/p>\n

While paper readership has been in decline for a decade, online news, media, and publishers are fighting for views, clicks, and subscriptions.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s projected<\/a> that by 2023, the average digital media user will spend over eight hours a day online. A growing market means more competition. And you can\u2019t win if you don\u2019t first understand where you stand among your main competitors.<\/p>\n

This article is part of our series of industry benchmarking<\/a> blog posts, aimed at helping you assess the standard averages in your industry, the results you should be aiming for, and the ways that you can improve. The methodology behind this analysis is based on a deep dive into the top websites in the news and media web industry.<\/p>\n

All of the competitor benchmarking<\/a> metrics below are based on Similarweb data for January – March 2022. Using our digital suite for publishers and media<\/a>, we look at total traffic to the top websites in the News and Media category worldwide<\/a>, in the United States<\/a>, and in several other key markets.<\/p>\n

Benchmarking metrics in news and media<\/h2>\n

Subscribers are using the internet as their primary news source. In the U.S., 86% of adults<\/a> say they get their news from a smartphone, computer, or tablet. As online readership numbers grow, it\u2019s important to understand how your site performs relative to the competition.<\/p>\n

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Consumers\u2019 increased appetite for online news was fueled by the unprecedented outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 spurred demand for constant updates and content optimization<\/a>, as well as a remarkable surge in traffic to news sites<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2020, the News and Media category had a total of 330.1 billion visits worldwide, an increase of 8.9% compared to 2019. In 2021, this industry had a total of 310.8 billion visits worldwide.<\/p>\n

Although total visits<\/a> have slowed in the last two years, 2020 is a tricky year to benchmark against as it was such an anomaly for most industries. However, total visits in the past two years surpass the traffic of 2019.<\/p>\n

When comparing March 2022 to March 2021, visits to news and media websites grew by 3.8% in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\"Similarweb<\/p>\n

Device split: desktop vs. mobile<\/h2>\n

Device split offers an understanding of where you need to focus your efforts when it comes to content and ad spend.<\/p>\n

Top 100 websites in the category worldwide:<\/strong><\/p>\n