War Coverage Dominates Online Usage

News websites are continuing to experience a surge in traffic as a result of the ongoing conflict in Iraq, according to the latest research from Hitwise.

The figures show that between Monday and Friday last week, news websites accounted for a 22.47% share of all web traffic in the UK, an increase of 9% on the previous week and the category’s highest share of web traffic this year (see Surge In Traffic To News Sites On Outbreak Of War).

According to Hitwise, BBC News was the most visited non-print news website in the UK last week. The site attracted 5.52% of visits made to the category, representing an increase of 43% on the previous week.

BBC1 has also been attracting larger than usual audiences to its nightly news bulletins and last night’s 9pm broadcast drew an average audience of over 6 million viewers. However, this was overshadowed by the 9pm news bulletin on ITV1, which attracted an average audience of just under 9 million viewers.

Recent reports suggest that ITV could lose a significant amount in advertising revenue due to its decision to drop commercials from its special 9pm news bulletins covering the unfolding conflict (see ITV Drops Ads From Special News Bulletins).

Hitwise: 020 7378 3600 www.hitwise.co.uk

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