View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

Mail smashes web record and may have overtaken BBC

By Press Gazette

Mail Online has smashed the record monthly website traffic figure for a UK newspaper by attracting some 77.3 million unique browsers in May.

The figure, released today by ABC, is an increase of 82.2 per cent year on year and looks likely to have put Mail Online in pole position overall when it comes to UK news websites.

Although the BBC is not audited by ABC on a monthly basis, industry estimates (quoted by Mail Online publisher Martin Clarke at a conference last year) put global online readership of the BBC’s news output then at between 50 and 60m unique visitors a month.

The last ABC figure for the BBC, from April 2010, said it attracted 12.8m unique browsers a day across its network of websites.

In a first, Mail Online also today revealed that 62,000 unique browsers a day access Mail Online via the iPhone app which it launched six months ago.

According to Mail Online, some 315,122 people have downloaded the app and some 168,507 people currently use it to access Mail Online content via their phone. The app is free for the first 60 days then costs £4.99 for six months or £8.99 for a year.

Citing global figures from Comscore, Mail Online said today that it is now the third most popular newspaper website in America, behind the New York Times and the Washington Post. Also citing Comscore data for May, Mail Online stated that it is now close to overtaking the New York Times as the most popular newspaper website in the world.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

The Guardian, in second place, broke through the 50 million unique browsers figure for the first time in the ABC figures attracting some 51.4m unique browsers (up 44 per cent year on year).

Full breakdown of UK national newspaper website ‘unique browsers’ for May 2011, according to ABC

  • Mail Online: 4,365,716 daily browsers (up 82.7 per cent year on year); 77,250,993 monthly browsers (up 82.3 per cent year on year)
  • Guardian News and Media: 2,827,677 daily browsers (up 40.7 per cent); 51,383,937 monthly browsers (up 44 per cent)
  • Telegraph Media Group: 2,188,745 daily browsers (up 31.5 per cent); 43,796,963 monthly browsers (up 34.8 per cent)
  • Mirror Group Digital: 706,838 daily browsers (up 40.7 per cent; 15,766,729 monthly browsers (up 47 per cent)
  • Independent: 675,129 daily browsers (up 40.1 per cent); 15,225,779 monthly browsers (up 43.8 per cent)

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network