As the rush to Christmas continued last week, with Shopping, Travel and Weather content all growing, three huge sporting events drove reader engagement with Sport to double-digit growth, including Keely Hodgkinson’ Sports Personality of the Year win.
Topical News
- Nearly 80m Sport page views closed the year on a high, driven by three major events, fueling double-digit growth.
- First, World Championship Darts returned to Alexandra Palace, London. Luke Littler set a tournament record for average points, boosting Darts page views by 3.5x.
- Next, Team GB’s 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2024. Cyclist Mark Cavendish also received a lifetime achievement award. Sport TV page views rose by +37%.
- Finally, Boxing’s second-biggest night saw Tyson Fury face world champion Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch, which Usyk won on points. Boxing interest nearly quadrupled.
Seasonal Events
- Last-minute Christmas shopping gave Brits a final chance to grab presents, boosting Shopping engagement with an +8% rise in page views. Grocery Shopping surged by +77%, while Christmas Shopping page views climbed by +33%.
- Meanwhile, the festive getaway sparked warnings of travel chaos on UK motorways, driving a +35% increase in Road Travel page views. Relatedly, Weather page views rose by +28% as forecasts predicted poor conditions.
