Variety.com was the highest-ranking entertainment business news site every single month in 2023.
The online home of legacy brand and weekly entertainment business magazine Variety scored record-breaking traffic last year. An average of 29.1 million unique users visited the site each month in 2023 — and Variety reached a bigger digital audience than consumer news publications such as Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly, as measured by unique visitors according to ComScore. This marks a growth over 2022 as well, when Variety had an average of 28.5 million unique users visiting the site each month.
Variety‘s 2023 traffic also beat out all other trade news sites, making Variety the most-read publication in its category.
“This is a proud day for our Variety newsroom,” said co-editor-in-chiefs Ramin Setoodeh and Cynthia Littleton. “Our breaking news stories, industry scoops, magazine features, award-winning photography, design and video has made Variety the No. 1 business news publication covering Hollywood. We are so grateful to our incredible staff for getting us here.”
Variety‘s 2023 coverage included blockbuster covers on Elizabeth Banks’ latest directorial effort, “Cocaine Bear”; the crisis at Marvel; Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper’s reunion for “Actors on Actors”; the return of Fantasia Barrino in “The Color Purple”; and a comprehensive ranking of the 100 best TV shows of all time.
Variety’s editorial coverage was bolstered by massive growth in video and social media. Variety‘s YouTube channel witnessed a 66% increase in views and 95% uptick in subscribers. The franchise “Actors on Actors” led Variety‘s top videos of the year, with the conversation between “Barbie” star Margot Robbie and “Oppenheimer’s” Cillian Murphy surpassing 6 million views, and Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl’s “Grey’s Anatomy” reunion reaching 3.8 million. In terms of social media, 2023 marked Variety‘s most successful year to date. Variety gained 3.3 million followers across all social platforms, reaching a staggering 11.7 million followers in total. TikTok proved especially successful, with Variety reaching 2 million followers on the popular short-form video app.