Observed Signal · Aug 14, 2026 · Report · Source: Adzine · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Negative
Major US News Sites Suffer Widespread Traffic Declines
An analysis by the Press Gazette using Similarweb data finds that in July only six of the 50 largest US news websites registered year‑on‑year traffic growth, while 44 lost visits. The New York Times remained the most visited site with 406.3 million visits but was down 12% year‑over‑year; Fox News (222.1M, -11%) and CNN (220.5M, -32%) also saw substantial declines. Among the top 20 only Substack grew (95.9M visits, +27%). Across the full Top 50, Al Jazeera posted the largest gain (+108% to 24M). The data highlight mounting pressures on open‑web publishers and reinforce industry debate about monetization as publishers increasingly look to revenue outside their own websites.
Large-scale, year‑over‑year traffic declines across major US news publishers signal mounting monetization pressure on open‑web media and feed industry debates about sustainable revenue models.
Track Similarweb Signals & Market Shifts in Real-Time
Polaris7 autonomous intelligence agents track regulatory filings, primary sources, executive changes, and deal flow 24/7. Create your free Explorer workspace to monitor these entities.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Press Gazette analysis (based on Similarweb data) shows only 6 of the 50 largest US news websites grew visits in July year‑over‑year; 44 declined.
- The New York Times had 406.3 million visits in July, down 12% year‑over‑year.
- Fox News had 222.1 million visits (-11%) and CNN had 220.5 million visits (-32%) in July compared with the prior year.
- Substack reached 95.9 million visits (ranked 8th) and grew 27% versus July 2025; Al Jazeera logged the largest percentage increase among the Top 50 at +108% to 24 million visits.
- Several major publishers (Newsweek -77%, Business Insider -49%, Daily Mail -47%, BuzzFeed -36%, Axios -39%) recorded steep year‑over‑year traffic drops.
Connected Companies & Entities
17 Entities mapped“The Press Gazette analysis is based on Similarweb data....”
“At the top of the ranking remains the New York Times with 406.3 million visits in July, down 12 percent year‑over‑year....”
“Fox News follows with 222.1 million visits and an 11 percent decline....”
“CNN recorded 220.5 million visits, 32 percent fewer than the previous year....”
“USA Today is down 22 percent year‑over‑year....”
“CNBC shows a 20 percent decline versus the prior year....”
“The Washington Post is 12 percent below its year‑ago level....”
“Substack reached 95.9 million visits, ranking eighth, and grew 27 percent compared with July 2025....”
“NPR is reported as down 21 percent year‑over‑year....”
“Axios recorded a 39 percent year‑over‑year decline....”
“BuzzFeed traffic declined by 36 percent year‑over‑year....”
“Newsweek suffered a particularly large drop of 77 percent year‑over‑year....”
“Yahoo Finance appears at rank four among the most visited domains....”
“The Atlantic grew by 11 percent compared with the previous year....”
“Business Insider had 27.1 million visits and was 49 percent below the prior year; its CEO is quoted on monetization challenges....”
“Google News appears at rank nine among the most visited domains....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
FOX News Tops Digital News Metrics in April
FOX News Digital led major news publishers in April 2026 across multiplatform unique visitors, views and minutes, according to Comscore and Emplifi data reported by Cord Cutters News. Comscore measured 191.115 million unique visitors to FOX News Digital in April (a 46% year-over-year increase), 1.704 billion multiplatform views and 3.595 billion multiplatform minutes. FOX outranked CNN, CBS News, The New York Times, NBC News and ABC News on those aggregate metrics. Emplifi data showed FOX News generated 471.9 million YouTube video views in April and led social interactions with 112.3 million interactions and 1.9 billion social video views. The report also notes competitor rises and declines in specific metrics (e.g., CBSNews.com up in visitors; ABCNews.com down 41%). The article was published May 15, 2026.
Fox News Leads Digital News Streaming in Q2 2026
Comscore data shows FOX News Digital led major news organizations in Q2 2026 with an average of 178 million total digital multiplatform unique visitors, 4.6 billion multiplatform views, and 9.7 billion multiplatform minutes across desktop, mobile and other digital channels. The performance represented multi-quarter leadership (21st consecutive quarter for views) and year-over-year growth in unique visitors. FOX News also topped video and social metrics—posting 1.4 billion YouTube video views in the quarter (1.1 billion from FOX News Channel), averaging 6.3 million mobile app unique viewers, 270 million social interactions, and 4.4 billion social video views. Competing news brands (CNN, CBSNews.com, The New York Times, NBCNews.com, ABCNews.com) showed mixed results, with several reporting year-over-year declines. Comscore and Emplifi are cited as measurement sources.
Cable News Ratings Plummet: All Networks See Declines
For the week of Feb. 16, 2026, Nielsen’s big-data + panel measurements show all three major U.S. cable news networks recorded week‑over‑week declines in total viewers and Adults 25–54 during both primetime and total day. Fox News led primetime and total-day total viewers but posted double‑digit drops versus the prior week and significant year‑over‑year declines in both metrics. MS NOW and CNN also fell week‑to‑week, with CNN showing the largest primetime percentage drop week‑over‑week but year‑over‑year gains. Fox News dominated the most‑watched program chart, taking 13 of the top 15 slots; The Five was the single most‑watched show. Program-level demo leaders included Gutfeld! in A25‑54.
Track Real-Time Market Signals & Shifts
Set up custom watchlists to receive automated, evidence-grounded executive digests whenever material signals or shifts occur across your tracked landscape.