Americans Reach Out, Log On During Turbulent September

Relief Organizations, Government Agencies and Religious Groups See Increased Traffic as Historic Hurricane Season Continues

RESTON, VA, October 28, 2005 – Battered by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the U.S. Gulf Coast region was given a boost by Americans across the country through donations, volunteerism, and other gestures of support – often shown online. According to the latest monthly analysis from comScore Media Metrix, visitation to sites offering relief and assistance to victims reached unprecedented levels in September 2005.

“The Internet’s role in these disasters has been multi-dimensional,” said Peter Daboll, president and CEO of comScore Media Metrix. “Human outreach in the wake of these disasters has proven that the Internet is truly a community of communities, bringing together people and services to play critical roles in the process of recovery and rejuvenation.”

The American Red Cross site, RedCross.org, saw 9.6 million visitors in September 2005 – more than five times the amount of traffic it saw in August 2005 – making it the highest-gaining property for the month. The second-highest gaining property was FEMA.gov, the Web home of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA had 4.9 million visitors in September 2005, a 369-percent increase from August traffic totals.

Beyond major government and relief organization sites, many Americans visited smaller, “grassroots” sites to aid in hurricane relief. The highest-gaining category in terms of growth was Religion, which climbed 10 percent to reach 14.9 million unique visitors in September 2005. Religion sites became destinations for those looking to help others as well as themselves, as daily commentaries, audio broadcasts, and e-greetings were popular destinations at these sites.

AROUND THE WEB
Fall TV Guides Viewers To The Web – The Entertainment – Television category grew eight percent in September 2005 to 69.3 million unique visitors as consumers embraced the new Fall television season. The top-gaining network television site in September 2005 was ABC.COM with 7.6 million unique visitors, up 90 percent over its August tally. The network’s increased traffic was boosted by fans interested in its hit shows, including “Alias”, “Desperate Housewives”, and “Lost”. AOL Television (10.6 million unique visitors, up 45 percent), MSN Television (10.2 million unique visitors, up 76 percent), and Yahoo! TV (8.3 million unique visitors, up 30 percent) held the top three spots in the category.

“Sharing” The Wealth – September brought lower consumer confidence, and a concurrent rise in consumer focus on financial resources. This effect was apparent in traffic to the Online Trading category, which increased seven percent to 11.7 million unique visitors in September. The category’s top site was Fidelity Investments (3.7 million unique visitors), followed by ShareBuilder.com (2.5 million unique visitors), and Ameritrade.com (1.3 million unique visitors).

Pharmacy Sites Move Beyond Drugs – In September, online pharmacy sites received 15.8 million unique visitors, up six percent from August, continuing a trend of growth sparked bs increased marketing and expanded product offerings. Drugstore.com enjoyed a 15-percent increase in visitation to 3.7 million, making it the largest pharmacy site online. Walgreens.com enjoyed similar success with 17-percent growth fueled by a special digital photo promotion with SnapFish.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS
SportingBet PLC – The return of college and pro football seasons helped this sports betting property rise 82 percent to 5.4 million unique visitors, driven largely by triple-digit growth at SportsBook.com.

NationalGeographic.com – The site that accompanies the long-time magazine institution saw 5.4 million unique visitors in September 2005, up 63 percent from August. There was heavy interest in content on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and a gallery featuring the first deep-sea photos of a live giant squid.

Lexico Publishing Group – The company behind Reference.com and Dictionary.com enjoyed a 48-percent visitation increase to 9.5 million unique visitors in September 2005 as students returned to school and began using these services more frequently.

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*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in September 2005

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About comScore Media Metrix
comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore Networks, provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report – with unmatched accuracy – details of online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local U.S. markets and across the globe. comScore Media Metrix continues the tradition of quality and innovation established by its Media Metrix syndicated Internet ratings – long recognized as the currency in online media measurement among financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers – while drawing upon comScore's advanced technologies to address important new industry requirements. All comScore Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

About comScore Networks
comScore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior and attitudes. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given comScore explicit 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 patent-pending technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. comScore consultants 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 global leaders such as AOL, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Nestlé, Bank of America, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, GlaxoSmithKline and Orbitz. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Contact:
Andrew Lipsman
Vice President, Industry Analysis
comScore, Inc.
+1 312 775 6510
press@comscore.com

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