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Apr 22, 2005

Sports Enthusiasts Hit the Web for Up-to-the-Minute Information

RESTON, VA, April 22, 2005 - comScore Media Metrix today released its monthly analysis of consumer activity at top online properties and categories.  NCAA Basketball's March Madness and the kickoff of the baseball season drove sports-related content to dominate this month's top gaining properties ranking.

 

"March was clearly a heavy month for news and sports content.  Whether it was the frenzy over March Madness or interest in more serious topics such as Terri Schiavo or Pope John Paul II, consumers turned to the Web for the latest developments," said Peter Daboll, CEO of comScore Media Metrix.  "For many consumers, especially those at work, the Web is the primary means of keeping up-to-the-minute on breaking stories and searching for more in-depth info on news of interest."

 

Sports Enthusiasts Also Fans of Surfing for Information

Sports sites comprised half of the top 10 gaining properties in March, with NCAA, Sportsline.com Sites and ESPN.com all posting double or triple-digit growth compared to February.  NCAA posted a dramatic increase of nearly 500 percent over February 2005, and a year-over-year increase of 11-percent.  Student Advantage, which owns the Official College Sports Network, also benefited from March Madness with an increase of 42 percent over February.

 

Americans Show Interest in Heritage and Religion

Discovering family heritage, as well as researching information about relatives, is easier than ever thanks to online genealogy sites.  Genealogy was the top-gaining category in March 2005 with an increase of 31 percent, due in part to specific properties' efforts to lure new customers.  Driving this category's growth, Ancestry Sites experienced remarkable growth of 38 percent by offering free trials and utilizing effective banner advertising.

 

Posting gains of 22 percent over February, the Religion category was the third-largest gaining category in March.  The combination of a favorable comparison to last year (when Easter occurred in April instead of March) and the intense coverage surrounding Pope John Paul II also resulted in an increase of 53 percent compared to March 2004.

 

Travel Categories Grow Due to Easter and Spring Break

Travel subcategories comprised four of the top ten spots in the top gaining category ranking.  As Americans made plans to visit family for Easter, begin planning summer travel or finalize plans for Spring Break, they turned to the Web for both research and booking capabilities.  More than 6.2 million Americans visited Car Rental sites in March 2005, an increase of nearly 30 percent over February.  The Travel - Information category also experienced notable gains, with visitation to such sites increasing by 14 percent in March to reach 38.8 million unique visitors.

 

Television Advertising Drives Gains at Jamba! Ringtone Sites

A notable increase in cable TV advertisements for Jamster.com, the cell phone ringtone provider, helped push Jamba! Sites up by 159 percent compared to February 2005.  Jamba! Sites have been popular in the UK and Europe, but with the growing popularity of downloadable ringtones, combined with the brand's recent push in advertising, it has experienced substantial growth in the US market as well.

 

Consumers Take Advantage of Free Credit Checks

Following the midwestern region roll-out of the amended Fair Credit Reporting Act, traffic to GUS (the British holding company of Experian) increased 42% over February 2005 to nearly 3.5 million consumers.  The amendment, which permits consumers to receive one free credit report every 12 months from each of the credit reporting companies, is being implemented over time on a regional basis. 

 

Top 50 Properties

In March, CNET entered into the top 10 property ranking at number 10 and attracted 19 percent more visitors than in the previous month. The NCAA Tournament and the beginning of the Major League Baseball season helped ESPN attract 4.2 million more visitors in March than in February and soar 18 spots to number 33.

 

Among sites in both the February and March Top 50 Properties, News Corp. Online had the largest jump, as 17.7 million Americans turned to the site, primarily to view both American Idol and news content.  News content, specifically relating to the Terri Schiavo and Michael Jackson cases, drove a 13-percent increase in traffic to Gannett Sites, which jumped 6 spots to number 26.  Classmates.com Sites gained 10 spots to finish at number 37, while Target Corporation and Overstock.com each gained 6 spots to finish at number 28 and 32, respectively.  Finally, the rush to secure tickets upcoming events such as the U2 concert series baseball and Major League Baseball games, drove a 10-percent increase in traffic at Ticketmaster, the final property in March's Top 50 Properties.

 

Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking

Advertising.com enjoyed its 11th consecutive month atop the Ad Focus Ranking, reaching 78 percent of all Americans online.  Fastclick attracted 5.7 million more visitors than in February to nudge into the number 2 position, and Yahoo! attracted 4.2 million more visitors at number 3.  The rest of the top 10 Ad Focus entities stayed the same in March.

 

ESPN had the largest gain of any ranked Ad Focus entity; its 34-percent gain in visitation translated into a 7-spot climb to number 38.  Intense news coverage of the Terri Schiavo and Michael Jackson cases drove CNN.com Homepage and MSNBC up 7 and 3 spots to number 50 and 22, respectively.  Finally, traffic relating to The Suite Life of Zack & Cody powered a 19-percent increase in traffic at Go.com, which rose 5 spots to enter March's Ad Focus Ranking at number 47.

 

 

TABLE 1

 

Top Ten Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*

March 2005 vs. February 2005 Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users Source: comScore Media Metrix
Property

Feb-05

(000)

Mar-05

(000)

Percentage

Change

Rank by

 Unique Visitors

Total Internet Population

160,287

164,263

3%

 

NCAA

662

3,793

473%

221

Jamba! Sites

2,888

7,466

159%

105

Sportsline.com Sites

3,897

7,098

82%

110

Pepsi Co.

3,569

5,182

45%

163

Student Advantage

4,413

6,259

42%

131

GUS

2,456

3,477

42%

238

MLB.COM

4,945

6,885

39%

115

Foot Locker Sites

2,483

3,382

36%

247

MyFamily Network

8,562

11,474

34%

61

ESPN

12,481

16,684

34%

33

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in March

 

TABLE 2

 


Top Ten Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors March 2005 vs. February 2005 Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users

Source: comScore Media Metrix

 

Feb-05

(000)

Mar-05

(000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet Population

160,287

164,263

3%

Genealogy

9,664

12,657

31%

Car Rental

4,909

6,233

27%

Religion

12,468

15,255

22%

Home Furnishings

26,943

30,948

15%

Classifieds

19,842

22,624

14%

Movies

25,981

29,590

14%

Information

34,055

38,765

14%

Airlines

26,404

29,701

13%

Ground/Cruise

10,342

11,623

12%

Tickets

32,818

36,882

12%

 

 

TABLE 3

 

Top 50 Properties March 2005 Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations

Unique Visitors (000)

Source: comScore Media Metrix

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors

(000)

 

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

 

Total Internet Users

164,263

 

 

 

 

1

Yahoo! Sites

120,237

 

26

Gannett Sites

18,547

2

Time Warner Network

117,508

 

27

CareerBuilder LLC

18,335

3

MSN-Microsoft Sites

115,209

 

28

Target Corporation

17,713

4

Google Sites

80,078

 

29

News Corp. Online

17,656

5

eBay

65,897

 

30

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

17,285

6

Ask Jeeves

44,099

 

31

Bank of America

17,263

7

Amazon Sites

40,322

 

32

OVERSTOCK.COM

17,158

8

About/Primedia

38,716

 

33

ESPN

16,684

9

Viacom Online

37,638

 

34

Apple Computer, Inc.

16,527

10

CNET Networks

34,535

 

35

AmericanGreetings Property

15,982

11

Weather Channel, The

33,054

 

36

Comcast Corporation

15,542

12

Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG)

31,898

 

37

Classmates.com Sites

15,500

13

Lycos, Inc.

29,913

 

38

JPMorgan Chase Property

15,343

14

Verizon Communications Corporation

29,414

 

39

ORBITZ.COM

14,900

15

Monster Worldwide

28,587

 

40

Adobe Sites

14,880

16

Intermix Media

27,297

 

41

E.W. Scripps

14,786

17

Expedia Travel

24,357

 

42

COOLSAVINGS.COM

14,714

18

Shopping.com Sites

23,934

 

43

Sony Online

14,692

19

Real.com Network

22,954

 

44

Shopzilla.com Sites

14,610

20

AT&T Properties

22,465

 

45

Travelocity

14,498

21

Infospace Network

20,281

 

46

Cox Enterprises Inc.

14,220

22

Wal-Mart

19,640

 

47

SBC Communications

13,791

23

Trip Network Inc.

19,583

 

48

Dell

12,945

24

Weatherbug.com Property

19,462

 

49

Hollywood

12,809

25

Gorilla Nation Media

19,059

 

50

Ticketmaster

12,661

 

 

TABLE 4

 

Ad Focus Ranking

Unique Visitors (000)

Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations

March 2005

Source: comScore Media Metrix

 

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors

(000)

Reach %

 

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

 

Total Internet Users

164,263

100%

 

 

 

 

 

1

Advertising.com**

127,904

78%

 

26

CNN

23,317

14%

2

Fastclick**

119,203

73%

 

27

ClickAgents Network**

22,484

14%

3

Yahoo!

118,815

72%

 

28

MaxOnline**

20,580

13%

4

MSN

98,896

60%

 

29

CareerBuilder Network

20,260

12%

5

TrafficMarketplace**

96,442

59%

 

30

WeatherBug

19,211

12%

6

AOL

87,120

53%

 

31

Disney Online

19,054

12%

7

Casale Media Network**

83,669

51%

 

32

CNET

19,041

12%

8

GOOGLE.COM

77,405

47%

 

33

Travelocity All

18,726

11%

9

YAHOO.COM Home Page

77,392

47%

 

34

REAL.COM

17,819

11%

10

Tribal Fusion**

73,463

45%

 

35

GATOR (App)

17,457

11%

11

EBAY.COM

62,183

38%

 

36

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

17,285

11%

12

MSN.COM Home Page

55,043

34%

 

37

Netscape

17,188

10%

13

BURST! Media**

54,378

33%

 

38

ESPN

16,684

10%

14

ValueClick Media**

53,315

32%

 

39

SuperPages Network

16,254

10%

15

Vendare Group Search-New.Net Sites

46,235

28%

 

40

WebMD Health Network

15,667

10%

16

24/7 Real Media**

45,777

28%

 

41

CLASSMATES.COM

15,500

9%

17

Ask Jeeves

44,099

27%

 

42

MONSTER.COM

15,002

9%

18

Business.com Network

37,229

23%

 

43

CHEAPTICKETS.COM

14,983

9%

19

EBAY.COM Home Page

36,691

22%

 

44

ORBITZ.COM

14,900

9%

20

WEATHER.COM

31,798

19%

 

45

EA Online Syndicated Games

14,119

9%

21

Lycos Network

29,787

18%

 

46

TICKETMASTER.COM

11,891

7%

22

MSNBC

26,953

16%

 

47

GO.COM

11,853

7%

23

ABOUT.COM

25,907

16%

 

48

BIZRATE.COM

11,843

7%

24

AOL Business Network

25,231

15%

 

49

EA Online Games

11,812

7%

25

Expedia Travel

24,357

15%

 

50

CNN.COM Home Page

11,588

7%

Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that views a particular entity at least once in March.  For instance, Yahoo! was seen by 72 percent of the over 164 million Internet users in March.  The notation "**"indicates that the entity is an advertising network.

 

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
comScore Networks
(312) 775-6510
press@comscore.com