Available in English | Editor William Lee Adams | |
Type of site Eurovision news, YouTube channel Slogan(s) Eurovision news with attitude Alexa rank 55,739 (Global 06/2016) Launched 22 April 2009; 7 years ago (2009-04-22) | ||
Wiwibloggs is a website and YouTube channel focusing on the Eurovision Song Contest.
The site launched in April 2009 and is now the world's most visited web site focusing on Eurovision. It has a seasonal audience, peaking at 250,000 page views per day during the week of Eurovision in May, based on Google Analytics data. Wiwibloggs' unique take on the news of international song contests has made it extremely popular with younger audiences. This is enhanced by the site's high level of social media interaction.
The blog and its contributors are regularly cited in international media and have been featured by CNN, Newsweek, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Irish Times, and National Public Radio, among others.
History
In April 2015, wiwibloggs won Arts & Culture Blog of the Year at the National UK Blog Awards, recognising it as the top blog in the country across architecture, design, entertainment and music.
Later that month William Lee Adams, a former correspondent at TIME magazine, was the only Eurovision blogger to speak on a panel at the Eurovision Song Contest 60th Anniversary Conference in London. In the official programme for the event, the European Broadcasting Union described wiwibloggs as the "most popular and innovative" Eurovision website.
The site's founding and Adams' extreme interest in Eurovision has been documented in the mainstream press. In an op-ed published in the New York Times, he joked that covering the contest had exacted a toll on his mental health: "My therapist recently told me that I’m in an abusive relationship with my blog, which she says leaves me 'adrenalized' and running off the fumes of televised spectacle."
During Eurovision 2016, Adams and fellow wiwibloggs correspondent Deban Aderemi served as special guests on Studio Eurovision, the official Eurovision pre-show from Swedish host broadcaster SVT. The show aired the hour before the Eurovision semi-finals and the grand final. Hosted by comedian Gina Dirawi, the show was reportedly watched by two million people.