The passing of Ozzy Osbourne sent shockwaves through pop culture, driving a surge in Music & Audio. Meanwhile, state pension rumours fuelled sharp climbs across Retirement, Career Planning and Personal Finance as savers braced for change. The Lionesses’ Euros triumph pushed unique users towards Football pages, while a dramatic Lions rugby win lifted Rugby page hits. Elsewhere, families leaned into summer mode, boosting Travel, Family, and Kids content, as Fringe Festival buzz lit up Humour and Arts.
Topical News
The passing of ‘The Prince of Darkness’, Ozzy Osbourne, has made waves across the news, as tributes pour in for the Black Sabbath star. As a result, Music & Audio has seen a sharp uplift of +42%, with Hard Rock soaring 7.4x.
Sadly, Ozzy’s passing wasn’t the only shock for Brits this week – wrestling icon Hulk Hogan also passed later in the week. Wrestling page views have skyrocketed 16.3x as fans of the sport caught up on the details of his impact. Meanwhile, Obituaries (Pop Culture) is up 3.3x as fans mourn and celebrate both Ozzy and Hulk’s legacies.
Elsewhere, the upcoming announcement around changes to the state pension age has caused a wave of concern, with those affected eager to understand what’s ahead. As a result, Careers is up 30% WoW, Retirement has jumped 80%, Career Planning is up 3x, and Retirement Planning (Personal Finance) has climbed 2.5x.
On a similar note, rumours of tax law changes for households with over £14.5k in savings have driven a sharp increase in Personal Finance page views – up 23%. Saving content has jumped 58% and Personal Taxes has seen an 8% boost. Expect further growth for the category when the Bank of England next sets interests rates early next month.
Seasonal Events
The Lionesses triumphed over Spain in a thrilling Euros Final last night. With both the semi-final and final in the same week, Football users increased by 10% week-on-week, with Sunday’s final being the highest day for engagement. Page views were 12% higher compared to Saturday. Expect further growth this week, with engagement likely to be 2-4x higher as celebrations, including an open-top bus parade through London, and post-competition fallout continue.
In other sporting news, the British & Irish Lions secured a controversial last-minute win in their Test series match against Australia, driving Rugby page views up by 22%.
The summer holidays are in full swing, with Family & Relationships seeing an action-packed 20% uplift as parents look for ways to spend time with their children. Meanwhile, Travel is up a further 3% this week, and Travelling with Kids has soared by 99% as families get holiday ready.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival kicks off this week and is already causing a stir, with the infamous ‘Funniest Joke Award’ scrapped, driving Humour & Satire (Pop Culture) up 37% as readers dig into why. Excitement in the lead-up has pushed Arts & Culture up 17% WoW, further boosted by festival season momentum with Reading and Leeds just weeks away. View more Ozone audience insight here.
