News Traffic Trends: February 2025 Sees Decline Despite Major Events
The latest traffic data for February 2025 has revealed a notable downturn across many of the top online news sites in the United States, despite a month filled with significant news events.
Overview of Traffic Changes
According to analytics provided by Similarweb, most of the 50 most-visited news brands in the U.S. experienced a decline in traffic when compared to the preceding month. While February was expected to maintain the momentum of January—marked by key events such as an airplane crash in Washington D.C. and a high-profile Oval Office discussion between former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—only a fraction of news sites managed to increase their viewership.
Out of the top 50 sites, just 11 saw an uptick in traffic, while 19 experienced declines of 10% or more. This contrasts sharply with January’s performance when nine sites lost traffic, and 21 enjoyed increases of 10% or higher.
Significant Drops in Traffic
The most significant decline was recorded by the Los Angeles Times, which fell from January’s high of 42.3 million visits—spurred by the city’s devastating wildfires—to just 20.8 million in February. This marks a staggering 51% decrease month-over-month, and represents a 27% drop from February of the previous year.
Conversely, two publications saw impressive gains in February. Political news website The Hill reported a 17% increase in visits, reaching 42.9 million, while the UK-based Independent experienced a 12% rise to 26.5 million total visits. The Gateway Pundit, a site known for its controversial reporting on the 2020 U.S. presidential election, also grew by 9% to 29.5 million visits.
Among the top 10 most-visited news websites, the Associated Press (AP) was one of the few to report growth, achieving 122.8 million visits, a 5.7% increase month-on-month. In stark contrast, USA Today, CNN, and BBC News recorded considerable declines, with USA Today suffering a 19% drop, CNN down 14%, and BBC News lowering its traffic by 11%.
Year-Over-Year Comparisons
When examining year-over-year trends, the Associated Press stood out with a remarkable 76% increase compared to February 2024. BBC News also saw a healthy 30% rise, while other prominent sites like People magazine and The New York Times experienced smaller, but positive, growth percentages.
However, even among the top ten sites, the majority posted declines in visits when compared to February 2024. Notably, USA Today and the aggregator MSN reflected 8% losses, while Fox News remained nearly unchanged, experiencing a drop of less than a single percentage point.
Broader Market Insights
Delving deeper into the broader dataset of the top 50 U.S. news websites, the most significant year-over-year traffic growth was exhibited by Athlon Sports, boasting an impressive 854% increase in visits compared to February 2024. This was followed by India Times, which enjoyed an 82% rise, demonstrating an increasing interest in diverse news outlets.
Unfortunately, seven sites reported year-over-year declines of 10% or greater. Among these, The Sun and Daily Mail, two popular British tabloids, faced substantial losses of 62% and 19%, respectively. Business Insider’s traffic plummeted by 33%, further highlighting the volatility in online news viewership.
Conclusion
The fluctuations in traffic among major U.S. news sites underscore the unpredictable nature of audience engagement in the digital news landscape. While some publications capitalized on current events to attract viewership, others faced substantial declines, reflecting broader trends in readership and possibly changing public interest patterns. As the news cycle continues to evolve, analysts and publishers alike will be closely monitoring these metrics to understand their impacts on content strategy and audience reach.
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