U.K. Traditional Media Brands Attract Online Audiences From Around the World
Worldwide Visitation to DailyMail.co.uk up 153 percent from Year Ago
Nearly 60 percent of Visitors to BBC Sites Originates from Outside the U.K.
LONDON, U.K., January 22, 2008 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study of the worldwide traffic to the online properties of traditional U.K. media brands, based on data from the Comscore World Metrix audience measurement service. The study revealed that online visitors originating from outside the U.K. outnumbered the domestic audience for the BBC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, and The Daily Mail.
The Daily Mail had the highest proportion of international visitors, with 69 percent of its 7.6 million visitors originating from outside the U.K. The BBC attracted 59 percent of its audience internationally, while the Telegraph (57 percent) and the Guardian Media Group (56 percent) also drew more than half their respective audiences from outside the U.K. Only two of the ten sites studied, British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) and ITV Sites, had less than a quarter of their traffic originate internationally.
International Visitor Composition of Selected Leading U.K. Traditional Media Brands | |||
Property | Total U.K. Unique Visitors (000) | Total Worldwide Unique Visitors (000) | International as % of Worldwide Traffic** |
BBC Sites | 18,897 | 45,967 | 59% |
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) | 7,654 | 9,565 | 20% |
ITV Sites | 5,923 | 7,677 | 23% |
Guardian Media Group | 3,666 | 8,301 | 56% |
TheSun.co.uk | 3,321 | 6,000 | 45% |
Channel4 | 3,255 | 5,234 | 38% |
Telegraph Group Ltd | 2,679 | 6,226 | 57% |
Times Online | 2,422 | 5,390 | 55% |
DailyMail.co.uk | 2,369 | 7,556 | 69% |
Independent.co.uk | 899 | 1,785 | 50% |
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
** International traffic defined as online visitation originating from outside the U.K.
“In recent years, U.K. media companies have been able to acquire significant international audiences by leveraging their brands online,” said Bob Ivins, EVP of European Markets for Comscore. “The Internet is a truly global medium, allowing consumers to easily access content from anywhere in the world. It is critical that publishers and advertisers understand their global franchise – not just their U.K. audiences.”
Several U.K. TV news media brands experienced online growth during the past year. BBC Sites, the largest property in the study, gained five percent versus year ago to reach nearly 46 million worldwide unique visitors in November 2007, while ITV Sites grew 37 percent to 7.7 million, and Channel4 increased 28 percent to 5.2 million. There were also significant increases in traffic to a number of online newspaper sites, including the DailyMail.co.uk (up 153 percent to 7.6 million visitors) and the Telegraph Group Ltd (up 129 percent to 6.2 million visitors).
Visitation to Selected Leading U.K. Traditional Media Brand Sites | |||
Media Brand | Total Unique Visitors (000) | ||
Nov 2006 | Nov 2007 | % Change | |
Total Worldwide Internet Audience | 736,072 | 810,779 | 10% |
BBC Sites | 43,703 | 45,967 | 5% |
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) | 9,679 | 9,565 | -1% |
Guardian Media Group | 7,210 | 8,301 | 15% |
ITV Sites | 5,603 | 7,677 | 37% |
DailyMail.co.uk | 2,984 | 7,556 | 153% |
Telegraph Group Ltd | 2,723 | 6,226 | 129% |
TheSun.co.uk | 4,130 | 6,000 | 45% |
Times Online | 4,053 | 5,390 | 33% |
Channel4 | 4,105 | 5,234 | 28% |
Independent.co.uk | 1,625 | 1,785 | 10% |
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs
About Comscore
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. Comscore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by more than 800 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com