Newsquest Websites Hit Record 100 Million Article Page Views

Newsquest’s network of 160 websites broke a new record in July after hitting the 100 million article page view milestone for the first time, with digital revenues representing 39 per cent of all Newsquest advertising in the month of July.

Overall growth for the publisher was 27 per cent with the Bournemouth Echo topping the table with 5.2 million page views while two Newsquest reporters achieved one million page views each single handedly, the publisher said.

The Hereford Times doubled its page views against the same time last year — and other top performers included The Argus, up 65 per cent, and Falmouth Packet, up 63 per cent — while most other sites were in significant double digit growth.

The Impartial Reporter has grown its traffic by 200 per cent year-on-year in a big part due to an investigation into child sex abuse.

Editorial director Toby Granville said “This is a fantastic achievement by the editors and their teams and demonstrates our strategy is spot on and the hard work and effort is paying off in spades.”

Chief executive Henry Faure Walker, News Media Association vice chairman, said: “I’m pleased to report that Newsquest websites achieved more than 100 million monthly article page views this July.

“This is the first time we have broken through the 100 million barrier and is testament to the hard work and focus taking place in our local newsrooms across the UK.

“Whilst the advertising environment for print newspapers remains challenging, the success we are having in attracting a huge and engaged audience to our digital platforms (larger than Facebook in most of our markets) underpins the success that we are having in our digital revenues: digital revenues represented 39 per cent of all Newsquest advertising in the month of July.

“We are not there yet, but we are well on the way to breaking through to having a sustainable model for local news.”