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29.08.2014 Europe

Battle To Be World’s #1 News Site Hots Up As BBC Numbers Soar

July Figures Show The BBC And CNN Neck And Neck For Global Online Audiences
By BBC World News
Battle To Be Worlds 1 News Site Hots Up As BBC Numbers Soar
29.08.2014 LISTEN

New research from ComScore* has revealed that the BBC's global audience has grown by 30% since 2012 to 73.4m unique browsers – just 200,000 (0.27%) short of CNN's 73.6m.

The competition to claim the top spot in online news intensified in July as the BBC outpaced the market to overtake all other international rivals.

The BBC puts its sustained growth down to a programme of product investment, enhanced feature content on bbc.com, the increasing popularity of the BBC's suite of language sites and its continued commitment to first-hand reporting from an unmatched network of international correspondents.

In a period of unprecedented industry change the BBC has retained its position as the most trusted international news broadcaster and continues to take market share. Studies** have shown the BBC to be the leader in global breaking news with stories from a wider geographical spread of places and journalists in more countries than any other international news provider.

Separate research also showed that the BBC is by far the most shared news brand on Twitter, with the latest figures*** revealing that its stories were shared a record-breaking 3.5 million times in July – over a million more than its nearest competitor.

Peter Horrocks, Director of the World Service Group, said, “In a year that has seen wave after wave of fast-moving and constantly evolving breaking news stories from all corners of the world we are delighted that audiences are increasingly turning to the BBC for up-to-the-minute coverage from a trusted and impartial source.

“As the world gets smaller and big stories affect us all, our worldwide network of journalists and uniquely global perspective are increasingly valuable. Our aim is to become the leaders in global news online. It's a bold ambition and we do not underestimate the competition, but the game is on.”

The BBC enjoyed particular success in North America – the home market of many of the BBC's competitors and one of only a handful of regions in the world where it does not already take the top spot. July saw its unique desktop users grow 6% month on month and 16% year on year, bucking the trend and moving the BBC up to 4th place.

BBC World News and BBC.com, the BBC's commercially funded international 24-hour English news platforms, are owned and operated by BBC Global News Ltd. BBC World News television is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, and over 380 million households and 1.8 million hotel rooms. The channel's content is also available on 178 cruise ships, 53 airlines and 23 mobile phone networks. BBC.com offers up-to-the minute international news and in-depth analysis for PCs, tablets and mobile devices to more than 76 million unique browsers each month.

BBC World Service is an international multimedia broadcaster, delivering a wide range of language and regional services on radio, TV, online and via wireless handheld devices. It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 191 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. BBC World Service offers its multilingual radio content to partner FM stations around the world and has numerous partnerships supplying content to news websites, mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices as well as TV channels. For more information, visit bbc.com/worldservice.


BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Its vision is to build the BBC's brands, audiences, commercial returns and reputation across the world. This is achieved through investing in, commercialising and showcasing content from the BBC around the world, in a way that is consistent with BBC standards and values. The business also champions British creativity globally.

For more information please contact: Ali Cowe on 0044 7921 648705 or [email protected]

*ComScore Media Metrix. Worldwide data for July 2014.

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