Data Monday: Consuming News on Mobile Devices

by December 5, 2011

At this point it's not news that people are accessing news content on their mobile devices. But how and when they consume news on mobile might be. So here's some data on just that.

  • On a weekday, mobile phones are used to consume news steadily throughout the day, while the use of computers for news consumption is heaviest during work hours. Tablet usage peaks in the later evening hours. (source)
  • NPR’s mobile app usage peaks during weekday morning commutes. The iPad has a bump in traffic around 10 pm. (source)
  • NPR saw 30% more visitors to their mobile site than to their iPhone app. The iPhone app, though, had over 4 times as many page views. (source)
  • 57% of visitors to the NPR iPhone News App play audio at one point or another and they listen to audio two out of every five visits on average. (source)
  • The Financial Times mobile Web experience has 1 million registered users who account for 20% of the outlet’s online page views, and 15% of new digital consumer subscriptions.(source)
  • Financial Times users who register on mobile devices are 2.5 times more likely to subscribe. 45% of the 1 million registered users add the web app to their home screen. (source)
  • The Financial Times mobile web experience sees a huge spike between 7 and 8am. (source)
  • The Weather Channel had 1.3 billion page views on mobile 1.1 billion online page views in October 2011. They predict mobile activity will will surpass TV in "less than two years." (source)