Israeli News Sites See Dramatic Traffic Shift Amid Public Outcry
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
Channel 14's website (C14) has surpassed N12 in page views, with C14 seeing a 6% increase in September to 40.8 million while N12 dropped 24% to 40.3 million. This traffic shift follows public criticism of N12's reporting on the "100 Unit." C14 also recorded the largest traffic increase and highest engagement metrics among Israeli news sites.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Channel 14's website (C14) surpassed N12 in page views in September, reaching 40.8 million compared to N12's 40.3 million.
- N12's page views fell 24% in September, continuing a six-month decline of over 44%.
- C14 saw a 6% increase in page views in September, marking a significant traffic surge.
- Weekly data shows C14 leading N12 by over 34% in page views for the week of October 11-17.
- The traffic shift coincides with public criticism of N12's reporting on the "100 Unit" and a lack of apology.
- C14 also reported the highest traffic growth and strong reader engagement metrics.
New data from Similarweb indicates a significant shift in Israeli online news consumption, with Channel 14's website (C14) experiencing a surge in traffic while N12, the digital platform of Channel 12 News, faces a sharp and continuous decline.
In September, N12 saw its page views drop by approximately 24%, from 52.7 million in August to 40.3 million. Over the same period, C14's page views increased by about 6%, rising from 38.3 million to 40.8 million, surpassing N12. This decline for N12 is part of a larger trend, with a reported loss of over 44% in page views in the last six months.
Weekly data further supports this trend. Between October 11 and 17, C14 recorded approximately 11.13 million page views, compared to N12's 8.3 million, a difference of over 34% in C14's favor for that week alone. C14 also reported the sharpest traffic increase among tested sites, had the second-highest time spent on site after ynet, and the highest average pages per visit, suggesting engaged readership.
The drop in N12's traffic comes amid public criticism following a controversial report about the "100 Unit" (Kokh 100). Despite the cancellation of charges against the unit's members, Channel 12 News has not issued an apology, leading to public petitions and calls to boycott the channel. While Similarweb data does not prove a direct causal link, it clearly indicates a change in public browsing habits.
Channel 14 attributes its success to its readers and pledges to continue delivering news quickly and accurately.