Buyers say Fox News’ homepage redesign to highlight more non-hard news coverage is a ‘smart’ move

“Anytime a publisher is taking a moment to think about what is going to be the best way for consumers to experience their brand is a smart moment in time,” mentioned Megan Jones, Digitas’ chief media officer.

It’s the primary redesign of the Fox News web site since 2017, in accordance to govt vp of product and engineering John Fiedler. Since then, Fox News has expanded its crime, sports activities, life-style and leisure coverage and launched Fox Nation, Fox News Books and its ad-supported streaming service Fox Weather.

Page views elevated by double-digit percentages yr over yr for Fox News’ sports activities, life-style, world and auto content material, in accordance to the corporate. Lifestyle, auto, world and media content material noticed double-digit % will increase in minutes spent yr over yr. Fox News declined to share uncooked numbers.

What’s altering

The homepage now is made up of two essential columns as a substitute of three. Images and headlines are bigger. A brand new device — which took the product workforce about a yr to construct — permits the editorial workforce to create and move modules on the homepage, Fiedler mentioned. The homepage can show stay blogs and create carousels of tales on a subject. The homepage additionally now has particular breakout sections with kicker tabs on crime, popular culture and life-style tales. Nearly half of Fox News Digital’s readership comes via the homepage, Fiedler mentioned.

Joshua Teixeira, svp and head of expertise design at Digitas, mentioned cleansing up the Fox News homepage improves the expertise on a cellular gadget, the place most individuals are studying the news lately. And a cleaner expertise on the location means much less litter, making the advert placements “feel more natural.”

“We have the editorial flexibility to highlight things in ways that we couldn’t before to showcase the journalism that we’re doing across verticals,” Berry mentioned. He gave the instance of the “Meet the American Who…” franchise, which spotlights individuals in historical past who invented issues like gentle beer, buffalo wings and stoplights.

A brand new part devoted to video lives within the right-hand column, which surfaces Fox News’ stay channels: Fox Business, Fox Weather, Fox Nation and Fox News. It now reveals which channels are free to watch and which require a paid subscription to entry.

Ads load 30-50% quicker in contrast to the earlier model of the location, Fiedler mentioned. Ads on Fox News’ web site are bought each via programmatic and direct channels. The similar quantity of stock is obtainable on the redesigned web site. Fox News declined to share promoting income figures.

Buyers see more alternatives with web site refresh

Two advert consumers that spoke with Digiday mentioned Fox News’ move to make content material apart from onerous news and politics more accessible on the location may help attract more advertisers. (Fox News isn’t the one news outlet to lately put money into different coverage areas.)

Stacey Stewart, UM Worldwide’s chief market officer, mentioned the company partnered with NewsGuard — which charges the credibility of news and data web sites — final yr to present shoppers with a device to pinpoint “responsible journalism” shops. NewsGuard rated Fox News’ web site 69.5 out of 100: with their ranking of “credible with exceptions.”

More non-news content material may assist Fox News with its total rating on this device, as “their content becomes more well-rounded versus one focus,” Stewart mentioned. (It ought to be famous that Fox News is presently embroiled in a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems that claims Fox broadcast claims that Dominion had manipulated the vote in opposition to Donald Trump, regardless that it knew they weren’t true.)

If there are more “environments that have less controversy or more brand safety for clients” on the Fox News web site, then this can “absolutely” appeal to more advertisers and in numerous classes, Stewart mentioned. “Some [advertisers] really want to reach that audience, but are nervous about it,” given points of name security and suitability round news content material, she mentioned. “This addresses some of that.”

Jones mentioned there are numerous shoppers that need to goal Fox News’ “engaged and passionate” viewers. Stewart shared this sentiment. As lengthy because the writer can present that they’ll ship scale round verticals past onerous news and politics — and provide a package deal to manufacturers throughout its totally different verticals, Fox News’ web site modifications can appeal to new advertiser budgets, Jones mentioned. That stays to be seen, she famous, provided that she had not heard a pitch from Fox News concerning its latest web site modifications or if its growth of non-hard news coverage had attracted readership. 

But one thing is working to attract more eyeballs to Fox News’ web site. Traffic to the location jumped 34% yr over yr in January 2023, in accordance to evaluation of Comscore knowledge by TheRighting, which tracks site visitors to conservative web sites. The web site introduced in 100.5 million distinctive guests in January. It was the second month in a row of viewers progress after virtually a yr of declines.

Berry’s title was up to date to mirror he is evp at Fox News Digital. NewsGuard’s ranking of Fox News’ web site was additionally up to date to mirror its newest rating of 69.5.

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