Online news readership in India in August up 34% year-over-year to 9.4 million average daily visitors; users spend average 31% more time on news sites in past year: comScore
NEW DELHI
,
September 30, 2013
(press release)
–
Times of India Leads Online News Ranking, While Also Generating Significant Traffic from Abroad
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report highlighting online news readership in India based on data from its comScore Media Metrix service. The report showed that there has been significant growth in daily readership of news and information content in the past year, with an increase of 34 percent to 9.4 million average daily visitors to the category.
comScore News/Information Properties in India
August 2012-2013
Total India – Home and Work Computers
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
| |
August 2012 |
August 2013 |
% Change |
| Total Unique Visitors (000) |
40,044 |
45,902 |
15% |
| Total Visits (000) |
259,686 |
364,592 |
40% |
| Average Daily Visitors (000) |
7,042 |
9,402 |
34% |
| Average Minutes per Visitor |
31.6 |
41.6 |
31% |
| Total Unique Visitors (000) |
40,044 |
45,902 |
15%
|
The Times of India Leads Online News Ranking
The Times of India continues to be the clear leader in the news category, maintaining its number 1 position since last year with 12.7 million unique visitors in August. India.com Sites showed 25 percent growth breaking into the Top 10 for the first time with more than 7.1 million unique visitors. In addition to those two properties, 16 of the top 20 news properties are currently local news publishers.
comScore Top 20 News/Information Properties in India
August 2013
Total India – Home and Work Computers
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
| Rank |
Property |
Unique Visitors (000) |
|
Rank |
Property |
Unique Visitors (000) |
| 1 |
The Times of India |
12,715 |
|
11 |
The Hindu Group |
4,201 |
| 2 |
Yahoo!-ABC News Network |
10,721 |
|
12 |
IBN Live |
4,175 |
| 3 |
HT Media Ltd |
8,219 |
|
13 |
The Indian Express Group |
3,492 |
| 4 |
India Today Group |
7,676 |
|
14 |
Bhaskar.com |
2,537 |
| 5 |
India.com Sites |
7,188 |
|
15 |
CNN Network |
2,171 |
| 6 |
About |
7,044 |
|
16 |
BBC |
2,113 |
| 7 |
Jagran Sites |
6,312 |
|
17 |
Sify News And Information |
2,034 |
| 8 |
NDTV |
6,258 |
|
18 |
HPMG News |
1,965 |
| 9 |
OneIndia.com Sites |
6,182 |
|
19 |
Navbharat Times |
1,862 |
| 10 |
The Economic Times |
4,415 |
|
20 |
FirstPost.com |
1,832
|
Data also suggests reader engagement for the news category has spiked within the past year, with users spending on average 31 percent more time on news sites at 41.6 minutes per visitor. DivyaBhaskar.co.in and Bhaskar.com demonstrated especially strong engagement at 100.3 minutes and 62.1 minutes, respectively. Other niche news sites with more modestly-sized audiences – including Jagbani.com, PunjabKesari.in, and Navbharat Times – also generated high engagement with a higher number of page views per visitor than the category average of 48.
Several Indian News Properties Attract Significant Audiences from Abroad
Continuing a past trend, many of the top Indian News sites see a significant amount of traffic from abroad. FirstPost.com generated the highest share of its audience from abroad at 51.3 percent, followed by Manorma Sites at 45%. The Times of India, as the most prominent news brand, also successfully extends its audience into other markets with 37.8 percent of its audience coming from abroad. NDTV, India.com Sites, and The Indian Express Group also have more than 30 percent of their respective audiences coming from outside of India.
Share of Audience from Abroad Among Top News/Information Properties in India*
August 2013 vs. August 2012
Total India – Home and Work Computers
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
| Property |
Unique Visitors (000) from Outside India |
Unique Visitors (000) from India |
% of Audience From Abroad |
| FirstPost.com |
1,932 |
1,832 |
51% |
| Manorama Sites |
902 |
1,089 |
45% |
| The Times of India |
7,736 |
12,715 |
38% |
| NDTV |
3,550 |
6,258 |
36% |
| India.com Sites |
3,584 |
7,188 |
33% |
| The Indian Express Group |
1,606 |
3,492 |
32% |
| The Hindu Group |
1,741 |
4,201 |
29%
|
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, delivering insights on web, mobile and TV consumer behavior that enable clients to maximize the value of their digital investments. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.
