LONDON, Aug 30, 2007 (PR Newswire Europe via COMTEX News Network) --

comScore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced worldwide traffic figures to http://www.mlsnet.com, the official website of the leading football league in the U.S.

The site attracted just over one million unique visitors in July 2007 -- up 117 percent on the previous year. This growth can be accounted for by the U.S. arrival of former England captain, David Beckham, who was signed by MLS side LA Galaxy at the start of the year. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star is reported to have signed a deal alleged to be worth around GBP128 million, making him one of the highest paid sports stars of all time.

By the end of 2006, traffic to http://www.mlsnet.com had slumped to 230,000 unique visitors, down from 478,000 in July. However when LA Galaxy announced the signing of David Beckham in January, traffic immediately jumped to 808,000 unique visitors -- a 252 percent month-on-month increase.

In the intermittent period as the camera focus on 'Brand Beckham' shifted back to Spain, interest in the MLS site fell away. By March it had fallen to 392,000 unique visitors.

However, with the unveiling of Beckham as a Galaxy player at the club's ground on July 13th, and his subsequent playing debut in a friendly match against Chelsea on July 21st, worldwide traffic to the site rocketed to over one million unique visitors.

Worldwide Traffic to Mlsnet.com
    Total Worldwide, Age 15+ -- Home and Work Locations(i)
    Source: comScore World Metrix
             Total Unique
    Date     Visitors (000)  Timeline
    Jul 2006     478         Beckham announces retirement from England
                             captaincy
    Aug 2006     522         Dropped from England squad under new
                             manager, Steve Mclaren
    Sep 2006     250
    Oct 2006     294
    Nov 2006     306         LA Galaxy admit their interest in
                             signing the 31 year old
    Dec 2006     230
    Jan 2007     808         LA Galaxy announce the signing of David
                             Beckham on a five year contract
    Feb 2007     345
    Mar 2007     392
    Apr 2007     567         Start of MLS season in U.S.
    May 2007     521         Beckham recalled to the England squad for
                             Brazil friendly
    Jun 2007     719         Beckham wins Spanish La Liga Title with
                             Real Madrid
    Jul 2007     1,037       Makes debut for the LA Galaxy in a
                             friendly against Chelsea

    (i) Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes
        or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Bob Ivins, EVP of International Markets at comScore, observed, "David Beckham's impact on the MLS league's official website has been enormous. The player has single handedly doubled the number of visitors to http://www.mlsnet.com versus this time last year, which let's not forget was a World Cup year. When you look at the traffic increase that occurred in January just because of the announcement of his signing for the club, the figures speak for themselves. If anyone can raise the profile of the sport in the States, David Beckham is undoubtedly the man to do it."

European interest in the U.S. football site exploded following the announcement of the move in January, with traffic up 700 percent on December 2006. Like the worldwide trend, visitation immediately tailed off as European eyes refocused on the end of the various football seasons, but picked up again in June and reached its highest ever figure in July, with 255,000 unique visitors.

European Traffic to Mlsnet.com
    Total European, Age 15+ --  Home and Work Locations(i)
    Source: comScore World Metrix
                  Total Unique
    Date          Visitors (000)
    Jul 2006          61
    Aug 2006          62
    Sep 2006          53
    Oct 2006          36
    Nov 2006          49
    Dec 2006          26
    Jan 2007          209
    Feb 2007          65
    Mar 2007          57
    Apr 2007          71
    May 2007          72
    Jun 2007          145
    Jul 2007          255

    (i) Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes
        or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

LONDON, August 30 /PRNewswire/ --

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. 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 analysts 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 more than 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestle, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com

Web site: http://www.comscore.com
              http://www.mlsnet.com

Jamie Gavin of comScore, +44-(0)-207-099-1775, worldpress@comscore.com

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