TV, Sports and News Sites Experience Gains in September

Comscore MMX Releases September Top 50 Web Rankings and Analysis; Gambling Sites Experience Huge Gains Prior to Move by Congress to Outlaw Online Gambling

RESTON, VA, October 16, 2006 – Comscore MMX today released its monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at top online properties and categories for September. American consumers were particularly in tune to television, sports, and news Web sites in September as the Fall TV season premiered, football season kicked off, Suri Cruise was introduced to the world, and September 11th was remembered.

Ironically, just prior to the landmark legislation passed by Congress in early October to stem gambling over the Internet, Online Gambling was the top gaining category in September, posting a 17-percent gain versus August. Leading the category was embattled PartyGaming with 10.9 million U.S. visitors, a 75-percent increase, followed by SportingBet PLC, the second-biggest gaining Web property during the month with 5.4 million U.S. visitors (up 194 percent).

“Congress’ move to outlaw online gambling comes at the prime time for football season, as people around the country are placing bets on their favorite teams,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of Comscore MMX. “As speculation continues about the future of these online gambling sites, fans will very likely continue to turn to fantasy games on traditional sports Web sites, which also saw big increases last month.”

Indeed, in addition to placing bets, Americans also checked out sports Web sites in September, triggering a 7-percent increase to the sports category overall. Leading the category was ESPN with 20.4 million visitors, a 14-percent increase versus August, followed by Yahoo! Sports with 17.5 million visitors (up 27 percent) and FOX Sports on MSN with 16.5 million visitors (up 25 percent). Despite heightened fan interest in Major League Baseball during September as teams jockeyed for playoff position, traffic to MLB.com fell 16 percent versus August to 9.1 million. In contrast, traffic to Nascar.com increased 6 percent to 4.1 million visitors with its season heating up in September. Finally, with college football season kicking off, College Sports TV appeared in the top 10 Sports Sites in September, garnering 7.1 million visitors, a 22-percent increase versus August. (See Top 10 Sports Web Sites below.)

TABLE 1

Top 10 Sports Web Sites
September 2006
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Aug-06 (000)

Sept-06 (000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet : Total Audience

173,407

173,428

0%

ESPN

17,850

20,385

14

Yahoo! Sports

13,763

17,472

27

FOX Sports on MSN

13,133

16,471

25

NFL Internet Group

13,355

16,401

23

MLB.COM

10,896

9,122

-16

AOL Sports

6,629

8,049

21

CSTV: College Sports TV

5,797

7,083

22

CBS SportsLine

5,851

7,024

20

SI.COM

5,115

5,785

13

NASCAR.COM

3,888

4,137

6

TV Premieres Drive Traffic to Network Sites, and Traffic to Online Video Sites Continue to Grow

In the lead-up to the Fall television premiere season, sites dedicated to specific hit shows drove traffic to network TV sites. ABC.com experienced a 78-percent increase to 8.1 million visitors, driven largely by traffic to the “Dancing with the Stars” site, which saw a 212-percent increase to 826,000 visitors, and “Grey’s Anatomy,” which saw a 206-percent increase to 679,000 visitors. NBC Network sites also saw a notable gain of 52 percent (to 7.5 million visitors) in September, driven by traffic to the “Deal or No Deal” site, which increased 998 percent to 1.9 million visitors. Both ABC.com and NBC Network captured spots on the list of Top 10 Gaining Properties in September. Also of note was the 33-percent increase to Discovery.com Sites (to 7 million visitors) following the untimely death of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter.

MSN TV represented the top TV site overall with 12.7 million visitors, followed by Yahoo! TV with 9.8 million visitors and AOL Television with 9.6 million visitors. Also notable was the 50-percent increase to TVGuide.com, which had 4.3 million visitors in September.

Online video sites also continued to gain momentum as visitation to the wildly popular YouTube gained 9 percent during the month, reaching 20.8 million visitors. Video site Metacafe gained 134 percent to 4.2 million visitors, representing the third biggest gainer for the month. In addition, TopTVBytes.com experienced a 72-percent increase to 6.1 million visitors, representing the sixth top-gaining Web property for the month.

“As the buzz about the Google/ YouTube deal turns to the topic of ‘who’s next?’ it will be interesting to watch how online video sites differentiate themselves and how major media companies take notice,” commented Flanagan.

TABLE 2

Top 10 TV Web Sites
September 2006
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Aug-06 (000)

Sept-06 (000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet : Total Audience

173,407

173,428

0%

MSN TV

9,336

12,737

36

Yahoo! TV

10,718

9,791

-9

AOL Television

8,515

9,637

13

ABC.COM

4,576

8,140

78

PBS

6,857

7,568

10

NBC Network

4,937

7,515

52

Discovery.com Sites

5,282

7,011

33

CBS Television

6,051

6,094

1

TV.COM

5,316

6,001

13

DIRECTV.COM

5,186

5,282

2

Traffic to Entertainment and General News Sites Increase in September

On the heals of the Emmy Awards, traffic to Entertainment news sites saw a 5-percent uptick in September, led by TMZ with 6.6 million visitors (up 8 percent), followed by People with 5.6 million visitors (up 18 percent). Most notable within this category was the 930-percent increase to Vanityfair.com, as people flocked to the site to see the first photos of Suri Cruise, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ baby daughter. Finally, the Lions Gate Entertainment Web property represented the biggest overall gainer for September with a 565-percent increase in traffic to 6.6 million visitors, driven primarily by traffic to www.hardcandymovie.com.

In addition, nearly each of the top 10 general news Web sites experienced gains in September as Americans reflected on the events of September 11th five years ago. Yahoo! News led the pack with 35.8 million visitors, followed by MSNBC with 27.3 million visitors and CNN with 24.4 million visitors. AOL News represented the biggest gainer within the top 10 news sites with 24.1 million visitors, a 19-percent increase versus August.

Top 50 Properties

In September, the top 10 properties remained unchanged with Yahoo! Sites retaining its position at number one, attracting nearly 130 million unique visitors. As anxious TV viewers prepared for the launch of the Fall season, both CBS Corporation and NBC Universal enjoyed large increases in visitors, entering the ranking this month at numbers 19 and 34, respectively. NFL Internet group also entered the ranking this month at number 37, attracting more than 16 million unique visitors eager for the start of football season. Wikipedia Sites also moved up four spots to number 11, drawing 35 million unique visitors.

Top 50 Ad Focus

In September, Advertising.com claimed the number one position in the Ad Focus ranking for the 29th consecutive month, reaching 84 percent of the U.S. population online. CPX Interactive enjoyed a strong debut at number nine, reaching more than 96 million Americans, or 56 percent of the U.S. online population. ESPN moved up four spots to number 38, while EA Online Syndicated Games and Real.com entered the ranking at numbers 49 and 50, respectively.

TABLE 3

Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*
September 2006 vs. August 2006
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Property

Aug-06 (000)

Sept-06 (000)

Percentage Change

Rank by Unique Visitors

Total Internet Population

173,407

173,428

0%

N/A

Lions Gate Entertainment

986

6,564

565%

139

Sportingbet PLC

1,831

5,376

194%

169

METACAFE.COM

1,811

4,236

134%

201

ABC.COM

4,576

8,140

78%

109

NBC Universal

11,188

19,771

77%

34

TOPTVBYTES.COM

3,528

6,061

72%

151

Kaboose Network

2,125

3,415

61%

249

Mezi Media Sites

3,364

4,955

47%

180

Gemstar-TVGuide International, Inc.

3,216

4,591

43%

190

ORIENTALTRADING.COM

3,042

4,267

40%

200

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in September 2006.

TABLE 4

Top 10 Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors
September 2006 vs. August 2006
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Aug-06 (000)

Sept-06 (000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet : Total Audience

173,407

173,428

0%

Online Gambling

23,492

27,400

17%

Gaming Information

35,322

40,841

16%

Incentives

17,318

18,990

10%

Toys

20,687

22,210

7%

Sports

68,260

73,230

7%

Genealogy

7,970

8,433

6%

Education - Information

60,229

63,705

6%

TV

73,082

76,550

5%

Entertainment - News

35,809

37,499

5%

Multimedia

99,606

103,710

4%

TABLE 5

Top 50 Properties
September 2006
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Unique Visitors (000)
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Total Internet Users

173,428

1

Yahoo! Sites

129,724

26

Target Corporation

22,835

2

Time Warner Network

120,276

27

Bank of America

22,305

3

Microsoft Sites

119,376

28

CareerBuilder LLC

21,831

4

Google Sites

107,365

29

YOUTUBE.COM

20,759

5

eBay

78,991

30

Real.com Network

20,476

6

Fox Interactive Media

70,858

31

Gannett Sites

20,453

7

Ask Network

54,842

32

Shopzilla.com Sites

20,414

8

Amazon Sites

49,498

33

ESPN

20,385

9

New York Times Digital

40,523

34

NBC Universal

19,771

10

Viacom Digital

35,115

35

Comcast Corporation

17,798

11

Wikipedia Sites

35,057

36

Vendare Media

16,990

12

Verizon Communications Corporation

34,252

37

NFL Internet Group

16,401

13

Weather Channel, The

33,293

38

ARTISTdirect Network

15,745

14

Apple Computer, Inc.

31,873

39

E.W. Scripps

15,631

15

CNET Networks

28,744

40

Weatherbug Property

15,398

16

AT&T, Inc.

27,230

41

Photobucket.com LLC

14,729

17

United Online, Inc

26,461

42

EA Online

14,643

18

Adobe Sites

26,402

43

Cox Enterprises Inc.

14,425

19

CBS Corporation

26,398

44

WebMD Health

14,268

20

Lycos, Inc.

25,706

45

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

14,257

21

Wal-Mart

24,971

46

Ticketmaster

14,224

22

Monster Worldwide

24,828

47

JPMorgan Chase Property

14,137

23

Gorilla Nation Media

24,499

48

WhitePages

14,086

24

Disney Online

23,377

49

OVERSTOCK.COM

13,930

25

Expedia Inc

22,995

50

CRAIGSLIST.ORG

13,803

TABLE 6

Ad Focus Ranking September 2006
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Unique Visitors (000)
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

Total Internet Users

173,428

100%

1

Advertising.com**

145,835

84%

26

EBAY.COM Home Page

39,975

23%

2

ValueClick**

129,674

75%

27

ContextWeb**

37,261

21%

3

Yahoo!

128,042

74%

28

Vibrant Media**

36,939

21%

4

Tribal Fusion**

114,498

66%

29

Undertone Networks**

36,821

21%

5

AOL Media Network

110,912

64%

30

ABOUT.COM

34,761

20%

6

Casale Media Network**

107,798

62%

31

Business.com Network

26,114

15%

7

Google

103,433

60%

32

Lycos Network

25,447

15%

8

MSN-Windows Live

101,888

59%

33

CNN

24,449

14%

9

CPX Interactive**

96,397

56%

34

Disney Online

23,377

13%

10

Vendare Media - TrafficMarketplace**

95,713

55%

35

CareerBuilder Network

22,507

13%

11

Burst Media**

89,690

52%

36

WEATHER.COM

21,990

13%

12

AOL

87,981

51%

37

YOUTUBE.COM

20,759

12%

13

24/7 Real Media**

87,092

50%

38

ESPN

20,385

12%

14

YAHOO.COM Home Page

86,044

50%

39

IMDB.COM

19,050

11%

15

Blue Lithium**

74,193

43%

40

GameDaily Custom Network

18,607

11%

16

EBAY.COM

71,096

41%

41

The WebMD Health Network

17,188

10%

17

PrecisionClick**

67,049

39%

42

Vendare Media

16,990

10%

18

Tremor Network

66,213

38%

43

SuperPages

16,361

9%

19

AdBrite**

61,547

35%

44

EXPEDIA.COM*

15,898

9%

20

DRIVEpm**

60,815

35%

45

ARTISTdirect Network

15,745

9%

21

Gorilla Nation Media Network

59,168

34%

46

WeatherBug

15,278

9%

22

MYSPACE.COM

55,849

32%

47

Travelocity All

14,929

9%

23

MSN.COM Home Page

55,296

32%

48

CLASSMATES.COM

14,926

9%

24

Ask Network

54,842

32%

49

EA Online Syndicated Games

14,683

8%

25

AdDynamix.com**

43,561

25%

50

REAL.COM*

14,561

8

Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that viewed a particular entity at least once in September. For instance, Yahoo! was seen by 74 percent of the more than 173 million Internet users in September.
* Entity has assigned some portion of traffic to other syndicated entities.
** Denotes an advertising network.

About Comscore MMX

Comscore MMX, 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 MMX continues the tradition of quality and innovation established by its MMX 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 MMX syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

About Comscore Networks

Comscore Networks is a global leader in measuring the digital age. 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 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, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Press
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
646-370-1341
press@comscore.com