Pandemic Prompts Audience Surge For MailOnline

MailOnline has seen audiences surge by more than a third this year as audiences seek out news media journalism during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a trading update today, the publisher said that MailOnline’s average global daily unique browsers in the nine months to 30 June 2020 excluding other platforms such as Snapchat and Facebook video, was 17.4 million. 

This was a 37 per cent increase compared to the nine months to 30 June 2019, partly driven by increased indirect traffic via search and social platforms. 

The average daily total minutes spent on MailOnline during the nine months to 30 June 2020, excluding time spent viewing videos, was 148 million, up 16 per cent year-on-year. 

The publisher said: “We remain confident in the future growth opportunities at MailOnline, driven by increasing engagement with the direct audience.” 

The publisher reported a return to profitability for the Mail titles in June 2020 with mid-single digit adjusted operating margin in the month.

The publisher reported underlying revenue decrease of 11 per cent in the nine months, including 30 per cent in the third quarter and 28 per cent in the month of June 2020^, reflecting the impact of the pandemic on news media businesses

The publisher said: “Since March, the impact of Covid-19 has resulted in a pronounced reduction in advertising revenues across both print and digital formats. 

“Growth in online traffic has helped to mitigate the impact on digital but not enough to compensate for the overall reduction in advertising spend. Metro has been particularly affected as circulation volumes are currently approximately a quarter of their usual levels.”