Sporting events managed to grip much of the nation's attention last week from the US Open, football transfer deadline day and – most significantly – in the run up to the London marathon with the Big Half taking place being won by Mo Farah and Eilish McColgan.
Last week also saw the Venice Film Festival and National Cinema Day which sent many to the local cinemas to catch some cheap tickets. These cinema trips may have been a final summer outing for some families as children prepared to return to school the following Monday.
Sport content runs Healthy Living up
Last week was a significant one for our Healthy Living category as a number of sporting events motivated millions of Brits to lace up their trainers and focus on fitness. With the US Open taking place, at which British teen prodigy Emma Raducanu was unable to repeat her title winning heroics of last year, and the countdown to the London Marathon gathering pace with the Vitality Big Half race on Sunday, drove our Healthy Living category up by +44% to 5.8m page views.
As the annual London Marathon approaches, people’s interest in running spikes. The Vitality Big Half race held on the 4th of September drove Fitness & Exercise content up by 40%. Victories from GB’s Mo Farah and Eilish McColgan brought PVs to 2.1m.
Across the pond, however, sporting success was sadly not shared. Emma Raducanu, who shot to fame after unexpectedly winning the US Open last year, tackled the same event again and was knocked out in the first round. This increased tennis PVs by +79% WoW to 2.5m.
With health and fitness a key post-pandemic, millions more Brits are motivated by key sporting events. Our Healthy Living category saw a whopping 81% increase from last year from 13.0m PVs last August to 21.0m this year.
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Post-Covid, our motivation to engage with Healthy Living is a continuing trend. It can be observed that when there is an increase in sporting events it is followed by engagement in Fitness and Healthy Living categories. The 40% rise in Fitness after the Big Half marathon being a good example.
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