It’s on! Last week, a soggy UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak addressed the nation in the pouring rain outside 10 Downing Street, calling a surprise, snap summer election, scheduled for Thursday, 4 July. With parties from across the political spectrum hitting the campaign trail between now and then, expect reader engagement with Politics to continue to gather momentum.
Politics boosted by General Election announcement
In the week UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak played his hand and called a July General Election, the overall News & Politics category – the biggest across our Premium Web platform – grew by +11% to 152m page views. More than two-fifths of total engagement was for the Politics topic, driven by 4.2x higher page views for the Elections topic.
During the past three year, in weeks when major events have dominated the political agenda – from elections and policy changes to resignations and new appointments – Politics page views are typically nearly two-fifths higher than the weekly average.
Since last week’s announcement, editorial published in relation to UK Elections across our premium publishers has more than doubled. However, reflecting on the local elections in May, coverage about the results drove more than 3x page views vs. the election announcement.
Content sentiment analysis when the local elections results were announced saw a huge spike in negative sentiment editorial, with nearly half of Election page views categorised as negative sentiment.
Despite negative editorial drawing more of an audience, the average frequency of page views for positive editorial is 12% higher, suggesting audiences are looking for signs of optimism in the face of a potential new Government.
Other Topical News
In other topical news, 80m Sport page views increased by +18% last week. Ahead of EURO 2024, which kicks off in a fortnight, the final weekend of the domestic Football season, with the English and Scottish FA Cup finals, and the playoff finals, grew page views for the nation’s favourite sport by +37%.
Seasonal Events
There was expected seasonal growth for Travel and Events & Attractions content last week – with both categories rising by more than a third – in the build up to the start of half term and the spring bank holiday. Page views for short-haul destinations – including Europe and the UK – increased by more than two-fifths, while the Bank Holidays topic grew by more than 5x. With household tasks on the agenda over the long weekend, Home & Garden content also rose by +23%.
The conclusion of the 2024 Cannes International Film Festival, which once again transported Hollywood glitz and glam to southern France, drove reader engagement with Movies content. The judges at the annual festival – headed by Barbie director Greta Gerwig – awarded the coveted Palme D’or prize to American comedy drama, Anora.
Coming Up
June
Champions League Final: Football page views grew +52% in June last year as Man City won the Champions League final. The 2024 final takes place on Saturday, 1 June.
EURO 2024: Expect Football engagement to be c.30% higher in June 2024 when UEFA EURO 2024 kicks off on Friday, 14 June. The final takes place on Sunday, 14 July.
Father’s Day: Planning for the perfect Father’s Day present grew Gifting page views by more than a quarter last year. This year, the occasion takes place on Sunday, 16 June.
Glastonbury Festival: Headlined this year by Dua Lipa, SZA and Coldplay, expect Festivals page views to increase 3.5x on Glastonbury and the start of summer festival season.
July
Wimbledon: 31.7m Tennis page views in July 2023 grew +330% month on month on significant reader interest in the Championships Wimbledon.
British Grand Prix: 10.7m Auto Racing/Formula 1 page views last July when the British Grand Prix took place were +25% higher vs. 2023 season average.
The Olympic Games: When it began in July 2021, the Tokyo Games drove Olympic Sports page to significant 12x growth month on month.
The Euros: Last July, interest in the start of the Women’s World Cup drove 305m monthly Football page views – the second highest level ever.
August
Edinburgh Fringe: Fine Art page views will grow with the Theatre topic increasing by more than 50%. The festival will also drive Comedy Events, from Events & Attractions, to c.3x growth.
Exam results: A-level and GCSE results drive page views for Exam Results, from Education, to 3.9x growth.
Paris Games: Paralympics page views were 7.9x higher than normal during the Tokyo Games in August 2021.
