The Hollywood Reporter & Billboard Reach All-Time Traffic Highs In August; Shatter Social Media Records

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Guggenheim Media's Entertainment Group announced its two flagship titles, The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard, both reached all-time traffic highs for August.

The Hollywood Reporter hit 17.1 million worldwide monthly unique visitors, according to comScore, an astonishing 21% rise over its previous record of 14.1 million unique visitors in March 2014. Billboard also set a new all-time high for monthly traffic with 13 million uniques, beating out its previous record of 12.7 million unique visitors from May 2014.

Guggenheim Media's Entertainment Group also notched a new record for total traffic with a combined 29.6 million uniques (per comScore) in August, smashing the Group's previous monthly record of 24.8 million unique visitors, from May 2014, by 19% and making the four-year-old Guggenheim Media Entertainment Group the 4th most popular dedicated entertainment-and-music destination behind TMZ, E! Online and People.com, and of outlets including Entertainment Weekly, Gawker.com, Vulture, Rolling Stone, Live Nation, Spin.com, Complex.com, Vice, Pitchfork, Slate, US News and Atlantic Media (per comScore).

Guggenheim Media's combined traffic currently amount to more than 4 times the online traffic of Vanity Fair.com and 14 times that of Vogue.com.

Additionally, both brands have seen explosive social media growth in August. Billboard announced it passed 3 million followers of its Facebook page, putting the total number of social media followers across major social platforms for The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard at 12.3 million. The Hollywood Reporter's Facebook following grew by 135% in 2014.

"The rapid growth of The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard's online audience demonstrates that consumers value the kinds of access and quality media we deliver in a crowded entertainment marketplace," said Janice Min, co-president and chief creative officer of Guggenheim Media's Entertainment Group.

"Our insight, authority and ability to deliver news, compelling stories, and lifestyle from the inside of two of the world's sexiest industries is intoxicating and unrivaled in the digital space."

Guggenheim Media formed its Entertainment Group in January 2014, charging Min, as co-president and chief creative officer, with editorial direction of the flagship entertainment and music media outlets.

Since taking the leadership role in January, Min has netted The Hollywood Reporter its first Emmy Award for her work as executive producer on The Hollywood Reporter in Focus: The Wolf of Wall Street, which features Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Terrence Winter in an intimate, exclusive roundtable discussion that was broadcast to 18 million people as part of the brand's signature Awards Seasons Roundtables on PBS SoCal. The Roundtables are airing on A&E for the 2014-2015 awards season.

In March, The Hollywood Reporter was nominated for a National Magazine Award by the American Society of Magazine Editors in the category of general excellence—special interest magazine. The outlet was honored with 6 awards at the Los Angeles Press Club's 55th Southern California Journalism Awards, including Best Website. 

Min has overseen a sweeping expansion of Billboard, redesigning the print magazine, energizing the online edition with a striking new design and putting in place new editorial leadership at the storied music outlet. With the launch of the Billboard+Twitter Real-Time Charts—the music industry's first-ever real-time social media charts—Billboard oversaw the most significant innovation in music charting in decades.

Billboard has also scored a series of major scoops in recent months, including an exclusive cover story with Chris Brown that featured a rare, intimate interview with the artist—the first since Brown was released from prison in June. Billboard, which has recently featured Jennifer Lopez, Iggy Azalea, Tom Petty, Idina Menzel and Ariana Grande on its cover, also landed an exclusive interview with U2 manager Guy Oseary on the band's record-setting $100 million pay-day with Apple, and the first interview with Avicii on his illness.

The Hollywood Reporter similarly continues to offer the kind of unparalleled access and agenda-setting journalism that makes it a must-read destination.

Featuring serious-minded industry insight—such as a rare cover shoot and profile with CBS CEO Les Moonves—alongside entertainment scoops, like industry bombshell news that Disney Media Network co-Chair and Disney/ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney was stepping down, The Hollywood Reporter is the entertainment industry's only source for in-depth profiles and features, business analysis, trend and lifestyle coverage, and gritty in-the-know reporting.

Giving readers a chance to experience Hollywood from the inside out, The Hollywood Reporter offers an intimate, dynamic look into the entertainment industry that has precipitated a shift in the editorial perspective and coverage of Hollywood.

With the recently-launched "25 Top Red Carpet Designers" franchise—which features Giorgio Armani and Kate Hudson, and Sarah Jessica Parker and Prabal Gurung on dual covers; standalone fashion, style and beauty site Pret-A-Reporter; and franchises like The Hollywood Reporter and Jimmy Choo Power Stylists Luncheon—which this year featured Lupita Nyong'o, Naomi Watts, Kristen Stewart, Elisabeth Moss, Robin Wright and Dakota Fanning—The Hollywood Reporter is also the leading media destination for Hollywood A-listers and industry elites.

The Hollywood Reporter's investigative reporting, which makes headlines around the country, provides a penetrating look into the entertainment industry. Its recent report, "Hollywood's Vaccine Wars," which takes a deep look into the devastating effect anti-vaccine advocacy is having on the health of children in the LA region, was featured by The Atlantic as a must-read and was flagged by media outlets ranging from The Daily Beast to Reason to The Wall Street Journal.

About The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter is the entertainment industry's flagship media brand. With in-depth reporting, analysis, unprecedented access, world-class photography and video, and feature exclusives, The Hollywood Reporter is the definitive source for breaking entertainment and business news.

Founded in 1930 as a trade-only publication, The Hollywood Reporter reached an all-time high of 17.1 million individuals worldwide online at thr.com in August 2014, and over 224,000 readers in its weekly magazine, delivering news to an audience of industry power players and consumers deeply invested in entertainment content. The Hollywood Reporter's platforms include an award-winning weekly magazine, dynamic web and mobile sites, festival and awards season apps, tablet, iPad editions, social media, and branded events. Follow The Hollywood Reporter on Twitter @thr and on Facebook at facebook.com/HollywoodReporter.  In 2014, The Hollywood Reporter won a Los Angeles Area Emmy Award for The Hollywood Reporter in Focus: The Wolf of Wall Street.

About Billboard
Billboard is the world's most influential music brand, built on the most complete and well-respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts define success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com which is the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry's most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music – the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike.

Contact:
Tara Parsell
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SOURCE Guggenheim