Chron.com hits a billion page views for 2012

HOUSTON, Dec. 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Chron.com, the flagship website of the Houston Chronicle Media Group and Houston's most-read local news site, has topped more than one billion page views for the year.

The site, which crossed the billion threshold this morning, also saw significant gains in unique visitors, announced Andrea Mooney, executive producer and director of digital content for HCMG. The number of unique users for 2012 is on pace to exceed 110 million, up 32% from 2011 and the highest number in the site's history.

"The goal of Chron.com is to serve as the go-to local website for information on what Houston is talking about," Mooney said. "These strong growth numbers demonstrate that we're delivering on what Houston wants: breaking stories and news-you-can-use, including real-time sports, weather, traffic and pop culture coverage, plus utility such as events listings and city guides."

The Houston Chronicle went digital on October 8, 1995 with the launch of Chron.com on the web and Houston Chronicle Interactive on Prodigy, which gave users access to bulletin boards and chat rooms. About a year later, the company focused all efforts onto Chron.com. Over the subsequent 17 years, the Chronicle's digital reach has continued to expand, with web, mobile, tablet, and electronic newspaper replica versions as well as social media channels.

Most recently, Chron.com underwent a dramatic redesign. The site relaunched in September with a new look and feel, including improved navigational and share tools, a new logo and color scheme and a presentation that more prominently features local content.

Last month, the Houston Chronicle Media Group launched a premium website, HoustonChronicle.com, as a subscription-based companion to Chron.com. HoustonChronicle.com offers unique stories and photos, enterprise reporting, and opinions from award-winning columnists, including all stories from the daily paper. The site is built in HTML5 and features a responsive design that renders across a variety of platforms, from personal computers to tablets to mobile phones. HoustonChronicle.com is an anchor to the company's new Star Access membership program, which offers members entree to unique experiences, exclusive events and special sweepstakes in addition to access to the premium website.

Contact:
Nicki Britton | Houston Chronicle | 713-362-7486 / 713-504-1207 | [email protected]

About Houston Chronicle

The Houston Chronicle, the largest newspaper in Texas with the nation's second-highest Sunday total average circulation, has evolved into a multi-media company publishing online and commercial print products, in English and Spanish, reaching specific audiences with unique delivery programs. In addition to the Houston Chronicle's 943,000 daily readers and 1.6 million readers on Sunday, Chron.com, the Chronicle's online site, averages nearly 85 million page views and 12 million unique visitors each month. The Houston Chronicle is owned by the Hearst Corporation. Follow the Chronicle on Twitter at @Houstonchron.

SOURCE Houston Chronicle