Comscore Finds News Consumption Remains Significantly Higher Than Pre-Pandemic Levels

RESTON, Va., Aug 20, 2020 – New research from Comscore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms, has found that while audience traffic for certain categories are returning to normal, overall news consumption remains higher than pre-pandemic levels. The figures suggest that millions of Americans continue to rely on media for vital information during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Total visits to an aggregate of approximately 40 select news sites peaked during the week of April 13-19, 2020 with 8.5 billion total visits. However, since mid-May, total digital visits to news sites have remained somewhat steady. The week of July 27-August 2, 2020 saw 7.4 billion visits, which is 28% higher than pre-pandemic levels during the week of February 3-9, 2020.

Other media consumption highlights from the latest Comscore research include:

• Total digital visits (mobile and desktop) across ten key categories peaked the week of April 20-26, 2020 with 64.3 billion digital visits. Since then, total digital visits have slowly declined, but remain over 30% higher than pre-pandemic levels as of the week of July 27-August 2, 2020.
  

• Total digital visits to select top retail sites peaked in mid-to-late April. After declining for several weeks, visitation to these retail sites again picked up in July, reaching 1 billion visits during the week of July 27-August 2, 2020, a 50% increase in visitation over pre-pandemic levels
  

• Since late March, visitation to travel sites has slowly and steadily risen—during the week of July 27-August 2, 2020 visitation reached 525 million. This is still nearly 40% lower than pre-pandemic levels, but a 45% increase over the low point during mid-March.

Additional insights are available on our blog.

Comscore will continue to monitor these changing consumption habits and provide ongoing insights on its Coronavirus Insights Hub. To learn more about how Comscore can provide you with custom insights, contact us today.

About Comscore
Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore allows media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make business decisions with confidence. A proven leader in measuring digital and TV audiences and advertising at scale, Comscore is the industry’s emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement. To learn more, visit www.comscore.com

Media
Marie Scoutas
Comscore, Inc.
press@comscore.com