Bleacher Report Ranks Second Overall Among Standalone Sports Websites

For the first time in its history, Bleacher Report was the second-leading standalone sports Website in the U.S. among multiplatform users with 35.6 million uniques for the month of April, according to comScore’s just-released data. Compared to last year, that represents a 64% year over year increase for the site, which provides real-time, comprehensive coverage of sports fans on the team and topic levels.

News of Bleacher Report’s milestone comScore ranking comes after a hugely-successful week for the company, as its comprehensive coverage of the 2014 NFL Draft delivered record-setting results across all key metrics. More than 42 million Team Stream visits [i] were generated over the NFL Draft period (Thursday, May 8 – Sunday, May 11), up 123% over last year and, during the four-day blitz, nearly 8.3 million unique users accessed Bleacher Report’s NFL content across its website, mobile web and via its top-rated Team Stream app, marking a 39% increase over last year. Users also spent a significantly longer amount of time with the content, as time spent was up 60% versus 2013 with 140 million minutes spent on the site during the draft period [ii]. Additionally, there were 4.1 million NFL video stream starts during draft week, an increase of 175% during the same time period last year [iii].

Additional noteworthy stats:

• Bolstered largely by its NFL Draft coverage, Bleacher Report as a whole had its highest-trafficked day ever on Friday, May 9, with nearly 90 million page views, shattering its previous record day by 34% [iv].
• Bleacher Report’s NFL section visits hit 21.9 million, an increase of 35% versus last year [v].
• More than 1.6 million users came to Bleacher Report from social channels, a massive increase of 1,067% over 2013’s NFL Draft period [vi].
• Bleacher Report’s NFL Team Stream mobile and tablet app usage saw huge spikes with 7.5 million sessions, accounting for 72% growth year over year [vii].

Bleacher Report’s NFL Draft coverage, anchored by its mobile-first Team Stream Now video content, included real-time news and analysis of all 256 NFL draft selections programmed directly to team-specific and NFL Draft streams and web pages, delivering the most comprehensive experience possible for fans of all 32 NFL teams. Team Stream Now video host Adam Lefkoe, alongside NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller, NFL Draft Insider Chris Simms, and Featured Columnists Michael Felder and Aaron Nagler produced 445 videos within the draft period, ranging from news and analysis to recaps, reactions and predictions.

Sourcing: i) Flurry; ii) Adobe SiteCatalyst; iii) Ooyala; iv) Google Analytics; v) Google Analytics (April 25-28, 2013 vs. May 8-11, 2014); vi) Google Analytics (April 25-28, 2013 vs. May 8-11, 2014); vii Flurry Analytics (April 25-28, 2013 vs. May 8-11, 2014)