Research: Foreign audiences
Newspaper and magazine sites in Spain and the UK get a massive boost of traffic from foreign audiences. It’s been one of the driving forces since the start of online news publishing and the overseas contingent can easily top 50%. ComScore data at the start of 2008 suggested that among the UK media properties The Mail gets 69 percent of visitors from overseas, BBC 59 percent, Telegraph.co.uk 57 percent, Guardian 56 percent and Times 55 percent. The same models and issues are true for the Spanish speaking sites, with media properties from Spain enjoying disproportionate traffic from Latin America. Many media groups miss these dynamics because in print and broadcast, the model has traditionally been about producing and distributing locally. However, with increased globalisation of media savvy directors at the BBC and The Guardian are now actively targeting overseas audiences with special editions, services and content. Look out for the www.GuardianAmerica.com site launching in early 2008.