Digital news publishers in India witnessed a sharp decline in their web traffic as the number of unique visitors to their websites dropped drastically in January 2024 compared to January 2023, reveals Comscore data. 

Leading English news publishers witnessed a 10-35 per cent drop in unique visitors in January 2024 compared to a year ago. The list includes Indian Express (28%), Times Internet (27%), India Today (19%), HT Media Group (14%), Network 18 (14%), and NDTV (15%). The Hindu and Jagran fared better compared to the rest with their web traffic drop remaining below 4 per cent. 

The drop in traffic also means a decline in digital advertising revenue, which has become a substantial revenue source for most publishers over the past few years. Publishers, however, insist that the traffic flow towards news websites is seasonal as it depends on the news cycle. 

Notably, digital news aggregators like InShorts reported a 268 per cent increase and DailyHunt about 13 per cent increase in unique visitors in the same period. This indicates that snackable news segments are likely to grow in the future. TV9 and Times Network have also had a 4 per cent spike. 

Deeper analysis reveals that the decline in web traffic is not solely the result of AI advancements or Google updates. Broader shifts in online content consumption patterns, a drastic drop in social media referral traffic, increased competition, and a general disinterest in the news contribute to the complexity of the issue, industry experts say. 

This has come at a time when publishers are already facing challenges to increase their revenue from print businesses. e4m reached out to all publishers mentioned above to understand the reasons behind the sharp fall in their traffic. Their responses are awaited. 

e4m had reported last year about the falling web and mobile traffic of digital news platforms. It was largely blamed on the entry of AI and change in the Google algorithm. 

Pradeep Gairola, Business Head of The Hindu Digital, has a different point of view though. “Firstly, comparing data on a month-to-month basis, at the level of any news site, may give a wrong impression, because web traffic depends on the news cycle. Some months witness big events like elections or war, while some are dull. Secondly, a fluctuation of 4-5 per cent traffic at the level of a news site, is quite normal.”

He further stated that an overall decline in online news consumption, at the industry level, has been a work in progress for few years now. Drastic drop in social media referral traffic especially since Facebook (now Meta) dissociated itself with news and increased competition to churn out similar low quality stuff, by news sites are the prime reasons for drop in traffic. Also, the interest in ‘news’ has been badly impacted all across the world, post COVID. This may be cyclical and in the next few months, we will be able to understand it better. 

Interest for news dipped  

The Google Trends report, which gives a broader idea about internet consumption patterns, also indicates that English news consumption in India has remained almost flat over the past four years barring a few momentary spikes owing to major incidents or events. The September 2023 spike, for instance, is credited to the diplomatic row between India and Canada. 

According to TRAI, over 900 million Indians have access to the internet. However, there were only 456 million digital news consumers in India at the end of 2023, according to a recently released EY report. This suggests half of the internet savvy population doesn’t access online news. 

This is not just an Indian phenomenon. CNN, BBC, Fox News and CNBC also face the dwindling web traffic, media reports say. 

"News consumption is reducing worldwide, as per Comscore reports. One key reason for the same is the lack of interest of the younger users in news-related topics. News is a latent need, and it depends on news events for the increase or decrease in consumption,” says Sandeep Amar, Founder, PDlab.me. 

GenZ is largely away from news stuff, online or otherwise. They prefer sports, entertainment, business and international content. Besides, an average reader, who had seen enough mayhem during the two long years of the pandemic, doesn't want to consume negative news anymore. A significant chunk of the audience has shifted to OTT platforms, leading marketers told e4m. 

“Comscore data inconsistent” 

Some publishers also questioned Comscore data. “The Comscore data is inconsistent and we have been working with them to address it. Hopefully, it will be corrected soon. However, as per Comscore data too we have seen an 18% increase in page views, making us the sole player growing among scaled English news publishers in the country,” Puneet Jain, CEO - HT Digital, HT Media Group, told e4m.  

He added the HT Media group was seeing consistent growth across all digital platforms led by relevant content offerings and user-centric products. “For instance, Livemint emerged as the fastest-growing news website in the world according to Press Gazette's September 2023 report,” he stated. 

“Lok Sabha polls will bring more traffic” 

Amar and Gairola are hopeful that with national elections coming up in India, news consumption is likely to go up from next month onwards. 

Notably, general elections in the country are due in May-June. Over 95 crore people will vote to elect the next government. The elections are a high intensity contest with multiple highs and lows starting from nominations and pre-poll surveys to the results and oath ceremony of the Prime Minister. 

Alternate revenue streams 

Publishers are exploring alternative platforms and strategies to drive traffic and engage audiences. This includes a focus on messaging services like WhatsApp, business networks like LinkedIn, and new sources like Google Discover and Threads, industry leaders say. 

The diversification of traffic sources aims to mitigate the risks associated with the declining influence of traditional search engines on news consumption and social media platforms like Meta and X (formerly Twitter) and pivot towards more controlled distribution channels such as direct website traffic, newsletters and podcasts. 

Moreover, there is a notable shift towards video content, with many respondents indicating plans to produce more visual content alongside an increase in newsletter production and podcast output.

In a bid to protect their valuable content, leading news publishers have also blocked OpenAI's web scanning tool last year.