Skyrock Leads French Social Networking Category With More Than Triple the Number of Visitors of Its Closest Competitor
Facebook Jumps to Second Place
PARIS, France, June 19, 2008 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study of the use of social networking sites by French Internet users, showing that French property Skyrock Network led the category in April 2008 with 11.5 million visitors.
More than Half of French Internet Users Visit Social Networking Sites
French social networking sites have shown rapid growth during the past year, with the total audience for the category rising 36 percent to 16.6 million visitors in April 2008. More than 54 percent of all French Internet users visited a social networking site during the month, up from 48 percent in the same month in 2007. The most popular property was Skyrock Network, followed by Facebook.com with 3.2 million visitors, MySpace.com with 3 million visitors, and Trombi.com with 1.3 million visitors.
U.S-based Facebook.com has experienced dramatic growth in France during the past year in line with the site’s growing international popularity and Facebook’s development of a French-language site. In April 2007, the site drew slightly more than 100,000 visitors, but by April 2008 that number had climbed to more than 3 million. After Facebook officially introduced its French language version in March 2008, the site experienced a one-month jump of 600,000 visitors in April.
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A Selection of Leading French Social Networking Sites* Ranked by Total French Unique Visitors (000)** Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations April 2008 vs. April 2007 Source: comScore Media Metrix |
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| Property | Apr-2007 | Apr-2008 | % Change |
| Total French Internet Audience | 25,388 | 30,649 | 21% |
| Social Networking | 12,244 | 16,601 | 36% |
| Skyrock Network | 8,562 | 11,504 | 34% |
| Facebook.com | 106 | 3,161 | 2,877% |
| MySpace.com | 2,068 | 3,006 | 45% |
| Trombi.com | 775 | 1,299 | 68% |
| Hi5.com | 1,311 | 939 | -28% |
| Flickr.com | 522 | 879 | 68% |
| Netlog.com | 947 | 686 | -27% |
| Lexode.com | 712 | 556 | -22% |
| Badoo.com | 589 | 441 | -25% |
| Viadeo | 226 | 376 | 66% |
* Based on a selection of comparable sites, does not constitute an official category ranking.
**Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
French Internet Users Spend 450 Million Hours on Social Networking Sites in April
Social networking is an important part of the Internet landscape in France, with more than 450 million hours or 2.7 billion total minutes spent on these sites in April. Skyrock Network captured a commanding 73-percent share of total time spent in the category, followed by Facebook.com (12 percent) and MySpace.com (4 percent). Though representing a small share of total minutes, Orkut had the highest average user engagement (181 minutes per visitor), while Skyrock Network (173) and Facebook (106) also fared well by this metric.
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A Selection of Leading French Social Networking Sites* Ranked by Total Minutes (MM)** Total France: Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations April 2008 Source: comScore Media Metrix |
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| Property | Total Minutes (MM) | % Share of Total Time Spent at Social Networking Sites | Average Minutes per Visitor |
| Total French Internet Audience | 46,532 | N/A | 1,518 |
| Social Networking | 2,708 | 100.0 | 163 |
| Skyrock Network | 1,987 | 73.4 | 173 |
| Facebook.com | 335 | 12.4 | 106 |
| MySpace.com | 94 | 3.5 | 31 |
| Netlog.com | 59 | 2.2 | 85 |
| Badoo.com | 29 | 1.1 | 66 |
| Hi5.com | 23 | 0.8 | 24 |
| Trombi.com | 7 | 0.3 | 6 |
| Orkut | 6 | 0.2 | 181 |
| Flickr.com | 6 | 0.2 | 7 |
| Bahu.com | 5 | 0.2 | 37 |
* Based on a selection of comparable sites, does not constitute an official category ranking.
**Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
“Facebook has achieved phenomenal growth in France during the past year and with the introduction of its French language interface in March, we would expect this growth to continue even further,” said Delphine Gatignol, comScore Business Development Manager for France. “Facebook’s performance in France shows what a difference a year can make, with the property ascending from being just a minor player in the French social networking space a year ago to their current position as the #2 site. Facebook still has a steep uphill climb before it can substantially challenge Skyrock’s dominance in the market, but it will be interesting to watch as the two sites vie for the loyalty of the French social networking community.”
About comScore
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comScore, Inc.
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