Leading Brands in the US News & Magazines Category: Q3 2024 Analysis

Introduction

In the fast-paced world of news and magazines, maintaining a strong digital presence is crucial for engaging audiences across platforms. This article examines the performance and trends of three leading brands—CNN, NBC Nightly News, and USA Today—in the US News & Magazines category during Q3 2024. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data provides insights into cross-platform user behavior, highlighting trends in audience reach, app engagement, and advertising strategies.

CNN

CNN, a leader in news broadcasting, extends its digital presence through its website, cnn.com, and the CNN: Live & Breaking News app.

• Audience Trends: From Q2 to Q3 2024, cnn.com experienced a significant increase in visits, peaking in July with over 1.1B visits. The monthly deduplicated audience remained stable above 70M throughout the quarter. The web audience consistently outpaced app users, with web-only visitors exceeding 70M in September.

• App Engagement: The CNN app maintained a stable monthly active user base, with active users hovering around 1.6M to 1.8M during Q3.

• Ad Spend & Channels: CNN's monthly ad spend peaked in July at approximately $1.8M, with significant impressions driven by OTT channels. Facebook and Instagram also played key roles in their advertising strategy.

NBC Nightly News

NBC Nightly News, renowned for its comprehensive news coverage, is accessible via nbcnews.com and the NBC News: Breaking News & Live app.

• Audience Trends: NBC's website traffic surged in July, reaching over 420M visits. The monthly deduplicated audience consistently exceeded 55M, with a notable peak in July. The web platform dominated, with web-only visitors making up the bulk of the audience.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 290K and 320K.

• Ad Spend & Channels: NBC Nightly News focused heavily on OTT advertising, with consistent monthly spending. Other channels had minimal activity.

USA Today

USA Today, known for its broad news coverage, offers digital content through its website, usatoday.com, and the USA TODAY: US & Breaking News app.

• Audience Trends: USA Today's web traffic peaked in July with visits exceeding 230M. The monthly deduplicated audience showed consistent growth, surpassing 46M in September. Web-only visitors were the dominant segment.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active user base slightly declined, staying between 140K and 170K in Q3.

• Ad Spend & Channels: USA Today had a notable focus on desktop video advertising in April, which accounted for a significant portion of their monthly ad spend. Other channels, like Facebook and Instagram, also contributed to their impressions.

Conclusion

The Q3 2024 data from Sensor Tower reveals that CNN, NBC Nightly News, and USA Today each have distinct strategies and strengths in the digital news landscape. CNN leads in web visits and ad impressions, NBC maintains a strong web presence with steady app engagement, and USA Today shows consistent growth in monthly deduplicated audience figures. Sensor Tower's unparalleled data insights allow brands to understand cross-platform dynamics, essential for optimizing digital strategies in the competitive news and magazine sector. Access more insights through Sensor Tower's products and services.