Diario AS (AS.com) is the most read sports website in Spanish worldwide, according to Comscore, the ratings agency used in the advertising market, in its most recent report, for March 2020. AS had 9.7 million unique visitors, ahead of other Spanish sites such as Marca (9), Mundo Deportivo (1.8) and Sport (1.5); Argentinean outlet Olé (1.5) and Peruvian site Líbero (1.4).

The report is drawn up by Comscore using a sample of data from computers around the world. It does not include mobile devices, unlike some of their other reports. Each ranking is based on a certain number of devices connected to their database, being computers, mobile devices or both (multi-platform) Hence the numbers in the various rankings differ and cannot be directly tallied. The key to understanding the reports is the ranking of the outlets and the differences between them, because the percentage of visits is common across devices. Furthermore, Comscore uses internal data from the sites to adjust the figures.

AS has reclaimed its leadership in this ranking, in which it held top spot from January 2017 to April 2018, as well as June 2018, thanks to a growth of 83% in unique visitors compared to February and 49% compared to March 2019. This growth outstripped other sites and the overall average for the segment, which fell 5% month-on-month and 29% year-on-year. The audience figures for AS were noteworthy in all Spanish-speaking locations. Throughout Latin America, AS also topped the rankings, with an increase in visitors compared to February of 144%. In Spain, AS saw growth of 52%, to narrow the gap on the market leader, Marca, to its smallest ever (1.1 million).

The news coverage from AS was focused on its usual in-depth reporting of sport, while competitions were still being played, and on the huge impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on professional sport, including the postponement of the Tokyo Olympic Games, football tournaments such as the European Championships, the Copa América, the Champions League, the Europa League and the Copa Libertadores as well as almost all domestic league; the main motor racing competitions (F1, MotoGp, Le Mans, Indianapolis...), tennis (Roland Garros, Wimbledon), the NBA and all FIBA Basketball; the Giro d’Italia... AS has also covered the day-to-day life of athletes during lockdown.

These audience figures mean AS is now in second place on the world ranking for sports web domains for all languages, behind ESPN. This ranking includes both sports sites and official sites of tournaments and competitions. The US TV giant, the main holder of sports broadcast rights, is a reference point in the English-language market and leader with 18,183,000 unique visitors, the only outlet above AS (9,728,000). Further back are sites including Marca (9,096,000), Bleacher Report (7,420,000) and CBS Sports (7,040,000). What’s more, AS has seen more growth over the past 12 months than any other site, and was second in terms of growth in February, behind Bleacher Report.

In sixth position in the ranking is Chinese site Hupu.com, the only one from the Asian giant among the top 10 positions. Just behind is NBS Sports, in seventh position. The ranking is completed by three Japanese sports papers: Daily, Sponichi and Hochi News. Outside the top 10 are UK site Goal.com (17th), America’s Sports Illustrated (19th), Italian site Gazzeta dello Sport (24th), along with Spanish sites Mundo Deportivo (27th) and Sport (34th).

The worldwide leadership of AS among Spanish-language sites is thanks to the strengthening of AS.com as the clear leader among sports sites in Spanish in Latin America, according to the Comscore report for March 2020. The official ranking places AS at the top of the list in the category Latin American Sports (without Brazil), with 5,955,000 unique visitors and 28,652,000 page views.

The most widely read sports site in the country

For the first time in its history, the Argentina edition of AS, with 7.3M unique visitors, beat the rest of the market in terms of audience, claiming top spot from local sports site Olé (6.8M). Further back are TyC Sports (4.4M) and Marca (3.7M). An historic achievement thanks to impressive growth of 194% month-on-month and 253% in the past twelve months. The dramatic Superliga final and Boca taking the title was the biggest sporting event of the month. AS was there to cover it all in-depth. AS Argentina, headed up by Aritz Gabilondo, is looking to a very bright future with its third anniversary just around the corner.

Leadership bolstered with a market share of 48%

AS Colombia also set a new record, with more than six million unique visitors and 36 million page views. Figures that strengthen its position at the top of the ranking of sports sites in the country, with growth in readers of 110% compared to February 2020 and a market share of 48% of the total digital audience for sports. The remainder of the top three is made up of Marca and Bolavip, with 2.8M and 3.3M of unique visitors respectively. AS Colombia has a newsroom in Bogotá and local offices Medellín and Cali. AS Colombia has been led up by journalist and political expert Sarah Castro since it was launched in February of 2015.

Three years at the top and with an increased lead

AS Chile set a new audience record, with 5.1M unique visitors, doubling down on the leadership it has held for three years in the sports segment. This latest audience figure is the highest since AS launched in Chile, in October 2014. AS is 2.6 million readers ahead of Redgol, the biggest difference since September 2016, thanks to a month-on-month growth of 65% and 191% year-on-year. In third spot lies Marca, with 1.6M, followed by AlAireLibre and Depor.com. This edition, headed up by Mario Brisso, has a team of expert local journalists in Santiago de Chile.

The most visited Spanish-language sports site

AS USA recorded its best ever month in March 2020, setting a new audience high-point for a Spanish-language site in the US. The site reached 3.8M unique visitors, with a month-on-month increase of 60% and 186% year-on-year. AS USA is number one in the ranking for Spanish sports sites, ahead of Marca (1.8M) and TUDN (1.1M), the joint project from Televisa and Univisión. Led by Mexican Alejandro Gómez, an enthusiastic team of first-class journalists have put AS USA in its highest ever position in the Comscore sports rankings in the US, 23rd, ahead of outlets such as The Athletic and BBC Sports.

All-time high in March

AS Mexico returned to the top spots in Comscore’s Mexican sports sites ranking with its highest ever number of unique visitors. AS achieved 9.1M, beating its previous highest numbers of 6.1M in June and 5.9M in May 2017. AS is in second spot, behind Marca (with a difference of 590,000). AS Mexico has the most growth in the category and is ahead of MedioTiempo by 3.5 million, Récord by 4.1M and ESPN by 4.6M. Since its launch in July 2015, the Mexican edition of AS, headed up by Mexican journalist Alejandro Gómez, has become a leader in sports reporting in Mexico.