Men’s lifestyle magazine Men’s Journal achieved the highest year-on-year and month-on-month traffic growth among the top 50 news websites in the US during December, according to Similarweb data reported by Press Gazette.
Visits to the Arena Group-operated site surged 184% year-on-year and 130% month-on-month, reaching 19.5 million in December. This performance enabled Men’s Journal to re-enter Press Gazette’s top 50 ranking, following earlier strong showings in May and June 2025. The site had relaunched its quarterly print edition in July 2025 after a two-year hiatus.
The US Sun ranked second in growth on both metrics, with visits up 52% year-on-year and 59% month-on-month to 34.9 million.
Forbes posted the third-highest month-on-month gain at 15%, climbing to 59.3 million visits—despite suffering the steepest year-on-year drop in the ranking, down 49%.
Among the top 10 US news sites, only celebrity-focused People recorded year-on-year growth, rising 5% to 151.9 million visits. Seven of the top 10 saw month-on-month increases, led by People (up 14%), followed by MSN (up 8% to 148.7 million) and Yahoo Finance (up 4% to 133.2 million).
The largest year-on-year declines in the top 10 hit New York Post (down 34% to 93.5 million) and MSN (down 28%).
The primary catalyst appears to be the site's ongoing implementation of "competitive publishing", a model Arena rolled out on Men’s Journal starting in Q1 2025. This approach uses multiple competing editorial teams for 24/7 breaking news and content production, designed to boost audience growth, improve talent compensation, and drive profitability.
Arena executives have highlighted it as a key factor in rapid traffic surges, with early results showing strong momentum (e.g., a 282% month-on-month increase noted in March 2025).
The July 2025 relaunch of its quarterly print edition—after a two-year hiatus—likely contributed indirectly by revitalizing brand visibility, generating media coverage, and cross-promoting digital content. The relaunched 100-page summer issue featured high-profile talent like Matty Matheson from The Bear on the cover, reinforcing the brand's aspirational focus on adventure, fitness, gear, travel, and lifestyle.