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 MMX, 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 MMX. “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.

TABLE 1

Top Ten Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*
September 2005 vs. August 2005
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Property

Aug-05 (000)

Sep-05 (000)

Percentage Change

Rank by Unique Visitors

Total Internet Population

168,482

169,232

0%

N/A

RedCross.org

1,745

9,579

449%

75

FEMA.gov

1,040

4,875

369%

166

SportingBet PLC

2,967

5,397

82%

147

NationalGeographic.com

2,075

3,375

63%

246

Lexico Publishing Group

6,444

9,514

48%

77

Belo

4,068

5,965

47%

127

SnapFish

2,744

3,953

44%

205

Equifax Inc.

2,437

3,509

44%

235

CSTV: College Sports TV

5,277

7,554

43%

104

AnnualCreditReport.com

2,469

3,472

41%

237

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in September 2005

TABLE 2

Top Ten Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors
September 2005 vs. August 2005
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Aug-05 (000)

Sep-05(000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet Population

168,482

169,232

0%

Community – Religion

12,610

13,897

10%

Retail – Mall

28,198

30,403

8%

Entertainment – TV

64,421

69,280

8%

Business/Finance – Online Trading

10,914

11,672

7%

Health – Pharmacy

14,901

15,836

6%

Education – Information

42,488

44,818

5%

News/Information – General News

92,961

97,046

4%

Sports

60,917

63,480

4%

Government

76,075

79,104

4%

Community – Teens

24,521

25,268

3%

TABLE 3

Top 50 Properties
September 2005
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

169,232

1

Yahoo! Sites

123,375

26

Trip Network Inc.

19,220

2

Time Warner Network

119,056

27

Apple Computer, Inc.

19,132

3

MSN-Microsoft Sites

114,948

28

Bank of America

18,908

4

Google Sites

87,558

29

ESPN

18,763

5

eBay

70,072

30

CareerBuilder LLC

18,648

6

Amazon Sites

43,094

31

Shopzilla.com Sites

17,021

7

Ask Jeeves

41,499

32

Weatherbug Property

16,952

8

Viacom Online

38,561

33

Infospace Network

16,634

9

New York Times Digital

33,672

34

OVERSTOCK.COM

16,308

10

Verizon Communications Corporation

32,610

35

Department of Commerce

16,267

11

Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG)

31,574

36

News Corp. Online

16,047

12

CNET Networks

29,509

37

NFL Internet Group

16,010

13

United Online, Inc

28,855

38

Comcast Corporation

15,947

14

Expedia Inc

28,124

39

Earthlink

15,356

15

Weather Channel, The

27,940

40

E.W. Scripps

15,348

16

Vendare Media

27,864

41

Citysearch

14,375

17

Monster Worldwide

25,792

42

Dell

13,736

18

Lycos, Inc.

25,720

43

Sony Online

13,712

19

Wal-Mart

22,980

44

Cox Enterprises Inc.

13,658

20

MYSPACE.COM

21,640

45

Wikipedia Sites

13,583

21

Target Corporation

20,849

46

Capital One

13,493

22

Real.com Network

20,838

47

Ticketmaster

13,439

23

Gannett Sites

20,818

48

iVillage.com: The Women's Network

13,308

24

AT&T Properties

20,090

49

Adobe Sites

13,051

25

Gorilla Nation Media

20,012

50

Citigroup

13,013

TABLE 4

Ad Focus Ranking
September 2005
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

169,232

100%

1

Advertising.com**

133,059

79%

26

Vendare Media

27,864

16%

2

Yahoo!

120,858

71%

27

CNN

26,180

15%

3

AOL Media Network

111,807

66%

28

WEATHER.COM

26,097

15%

4

Fastclick**

107,038

63%

29

Lycos Network

25,625

15%

5

MSN

100,330

59%

30

MYSPACE.COM

21,640

13%

6

AOL

88,467

52%

31

CareerBuilder Network

20,215

12%

7

GOOGLE.COM*

84,155

50%

32

ESPN

18,763

11%

8

Vendare Media - TrafficMarketplace**

83,116

49%

33

Disney Online

17,561

10%

9

Tribal Fusion**

79,855

47%

34

WeatherBug

16,692

10%

10

YAHOO.COM Home Page

76,482

45%

35

SuperPages Network

16,405

10%

11

Casale Media Network**

74,466

44%

36

CLASSMATES.COM

16,190

10%

12

ValueClick Media**

62,762

37%

37

REAL.COM*

15,726

9%

13

EBAY.COM

62,019

37%

38

CHEAPTICKETS.COM

15,045

9%

14

Blue Lithium**

60,352

36%

39

CNET

14,750

9%

15

24/7 Real Media**

59,748

35%

40

MaxOnline**

14,609

9%

16

Gorilla Nation Media Network

57,964

34%

41

CITYSEARCH.COM*

14,198

8%

17

MSN.COM Home Page

53,995

32%

42

COOLSAVINGS.COM Total Activity

14,072

8%

18

BURST! Media**

53,301

31%

43

WebMD Health Network

13,845

8%

19

Ask Jeeves

41,499

25%

44

Travelocity All

13,798

8%

20

EBAY.COM Home Page

38,927

23%

45

CNN.COM Home Page

13,724

8%

21

MSNBC

31,843

19%

46

IMDB.COM

13,447

8%

22

Mamma Media Solutions**

31,673

19%

47

iVillage.com: The Women's Network

13,308

8%

23

Business.com Network

30,171

18%

48

FOX Sports on MSN

12,901

8%

24

Expedia Inc

28,124

17%

49

WhitePages Network

12,847

8%

25

ABOUT.COM

27,875

16%

50

TICKETMASTER.COM

12,786

8%

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 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.

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