By Modupe Gbadeyanka
About 1.6 billion visits were attracted in 2023 by the 80 most influential digital news platforms in Nigeria, according to a report by SquirrelPR.
These online newspapers and blogs covered four major categories, including News & Current Affairs, Business & Finance, Technology & Startups, and Entertainment & Lifestyle.
The News & Current Affairs accounted for 83 per cent of the total visits, with over 1.3 billion visits, while Entertainment & Lifestyle – 166 million, Business & Finance – 74.6 million, and Technology and Startups – 34.6 million accounted for 10 per cent, 5 per cent and 2 per cent, respectively.
The report also showed that the top five leaders in the News & Current Affairs category were Legit, Punch Online, Vanguard Online, Daily Post, and Opera News App.
In the Entertainment & Lifestyle category, the leaders included Linda Ikeji’s Blog, Naijaloaded, Notjustok.com, Naijapals, and Bella Naija.
In the Business & Finance category, Business Insider Africa, Nairametrics, BusinessDay, Brandspur, and MSME Africa top the chart, while Techcabal, NaijaKnowHow, Gadget Stripe, Technext, and Techpoint Africa attracted the most eyeballs in the Technology and Startup category.
The report also highlighted the rising stars, which include media platforms with less than 10 million quarterly volume under the News and Current Affairs category that made impressive progress within the year under review. These platforms include Okay.ng, Truetells Nigeria, Eagles Path, PM Express, Business Hallmark, News Online NG, Newsdirect.ng, New Telegraph Online, and Blueprint Online.
The co-founder of SquirrelPR, Mr James Ezechukwu, while commenting on the report, noted that “the breakdown of visitation numbers across different categories highlights the diverse interests of digital news consumers, with News & Current Affairs emerging as the dominant category, followed by Entertainment & Lifestyle, Business & Finance, and Technology and Startups.”
“Moreover, the identification of top leaders and rising stars within each category provides valuable benchmarks for media practitioners to gauge performance and explore collaboration opportunities,” he added.
Mr Ezechukwu disclosed further that, “The significant findings of the report underscore the vital role played by digital news platforms in shaping public discourse and influencing consumer behaviour across various sectors.
“With 1.6 billion visits recorded within the year, it is evident that these platforms wield considerable influence and reach a vast audience.”
Business Post reports that SquirrelPR launched this ranking report in the first quarter of 2023 to provide media relations practitioners in Nigeria with deeper insights into the performance of Nigeria’s digital news platforms.
“I am immensely proud to see the impact of our RANKED report on the Nigerian digital news landscape. The comprehensive analysis provided by RANKED offers invaluable insights for media relations practitioners, enabling them to make informed decisions in a dynamic and competitive environment,” he said.
