RESTON, VA, July 13, 2006 - comScore Media Metrix today released its monthly analysis of consumer activity at top online properties and categories.  Not only did Americans demonstrate their interest in the World Cup tournament through significant visitation to the Official FIFA World Cup Web site, but they also drove the Online Gambling category into the top ten gaining category list, making it the second-highest gainer during the month of June.  Online video and community sites continued to gain popularity in June, as Youtube.com became the 58^th most-visited site on the Web with 13.4 million visitors, and MySpace.com visitation grew 2 percent while many of the Web's largest sites were flat or down for the month. 

 

"Sites offering opportunities for social interaction continue to dominate the ratings," said Peter Daboll, CEO of comScore Media Metrix.  "Video-sharing and user-generated sites like Youtube, which for months have been attracting visitors in the millions, are now also catching the attention of marketers - as evidenced by NBC's partnership with Youtube, which was announced in June.  This shift is a clear indication that marketers recognize the power, reach and marketing potential of online video, which will certainly continue to grow."

 

The FIFA World Cup Site Kicks into High Gear in June

Internet users from more than 35 countries worldwide visited the official World Cup site at fifaworldcup.yahoo.com, which received an average of nearly 4 million daily visitors worldwide.  As a clear indication of the widespread interest in the tournament, comScore revealed that 4.3 billion pages were viewed by fans around the world from June 9 - July 9.   

 

After doubling from April to May, U.S. traffic to the official World Cup site continued its ascent in June capturing 8.2 million unique visitors, increasing 10-fold versus the prior month.  Additionally, the average U.S. visitor spent more than 44 minutes on the site--four times as long as in May.  Although only 25 percent of total worldwide visitors to the site were from the U.S., Americans were heavily engaged in the tournament, viewing 52 pages per day.  In fact, those visiting the World Cup site from workplace computers viewed 80 pages per day at the site, stimulated by the fact that the majority of games were played during U.S. working hours. 

 

The popularity of the game in Latin America was highlighted by heavily involved Mexican and Argentinean Internet users who viewed 56 and 41 pages per day, respectively. Within Europe, the success of the Italian and Portuguese teams stimulated strong interest, as Italians viewed 44 pages per day on average and Portuguese viewed an average of 48 pages per day.

 

TABLE 1

 

Most Active Countries Visiting  the Official World Cup Web Site Total Worldwide Internet Users - All Locations June 9 - July 9 2006 Average Daily Page Views per Unique Visitor Source: comScore World Metrix
	Average Number of Pages Viewed per Person per Day
Worldwide	35
Mexico	56
United States	52
Portugal	48
Italy	44
Switzerland	44
Argentina	41
Spain	38
Japan	36
France	33
Germany	31

 

As the tournament progressed and teams were eliminated, overall usage at the site declined. The most active day was Thursday, June 22 when 288 million pages were viewed by worldwide visitors as key games in the group stages were completed.  In contrast, 146 million pages were viewed on July 5, the day of the semi-final between France and Portugal, and 92 million pages were viewed on the day of the final, Sunday, July 9, when many viewers were likely gathered around their televisions.  The fall-off in visitation later in the tournament was clearly highlighted by the country-specific usage figures, shown below.

 

TABLE 2

 

Reduction in Total Page Views by Country, Post-Elimination of "Home Teams" Total Worldwide Internet Users - All Locations Source: comScore World Metrix
	"Home Team" Elimination Day	Percentage Change Total Page Views*
Argentina	June 30	-55%
Australia	June 26	-52%
Brazil	July 1	-34%
England	July 1	-58%
Japan	June 22	-26%
Mexico	June 24	-50%
Netherlands	June 25	-66%
South Korea	June 23	-34%
Spain	June 27	-69%
Sweden	June 24	-57%
Switzerland	June 26	-58%
United States	June 22	-50%

 

 

*Percentages calculated by comparing the total pages viewed per day from a given country after the elimination of the national team to the total pages viewed per day up to and including the date of elimination.

Not coincidentally, U.S. traffic to Online Gambling sites, which includes sites like Sporting Bet PLC (which had 1.8 million visitors in June, an 81-percent increase versus May), increased as fans went online to place World Cup bets.  The Online Gambling category represented the second-biggest category-gainer, attracting 23.3 million U.S. visitors in June, a 13-percent increase versus May.

 

Community and Video Sites Continue to Reign Supreme in June

As buzz about the site continued in June, visitation to MySpace continued to rise, growing 2 percent from May to June with 52.3 million visitors.  FreeWebLayouts.net, which provides templates for MySpace pages, was the third-biggest gainer, up 47 percent (from 3 to 4.5 million).  In addition, dating conglomerate Spark Networks increased 35 percent from May to June, marking 3.7 million visitors and ranking it 4^th on the top gaining property list. 

 

Similar spikes were seen in community sites that target teens or homosexuals.  The Gay/Lesbian category was the top-gaining category in June, up 16 percent with more than 2 million visitors.  Planetout, the most-visited site in the category, grew 5 percent with 817,000 visitors, while traffic to Downelink.com, an online gay community, increased 81 percent, attracting 262,000 visitors.  Teen community sites drew 25 million visitors in June, an increase of 9 percent versus May.  Lycos Angelfire captured the top spot in the category with 7.8 million visitors.  Additionally, MyYearbook.com was the 5^th top-gaining Web property overall, surging from 3 to 4 million visitors as the school year drew to a close.  

 

Similarly, sites dedicated to online video continued to surge in June.  User-generated video favorite Youtube.com became the 58^th most-visited Web property, with 13.4 million visitors in June (up 5 percent from May).   Yahoo! Video, which recently re-launched, realized a 5-percent increase in traffic versus May, reaching 4.5 million visitors.  Additionally, Toptvbytes.com earned a spot on the Top Ten Gaining Properties list for the second consecutive month, reaching 6.8 million visitors in June (up 27 percent), while Heavy Networks garnered the number 8 spot on the list, up 31 percent to 8.1 million visitors. 

 

The viral nature of online video was exemplified by a piece produced by Seattle-based ABC News-affiliate, KOMO TV, about Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC).  The video and related article was forwarded across the country via e-mail, creating a viral phenomenon that drove significant traffic to komonews.com.  As a result, traffic to KOMO TV holding company, Fisher Communications Inc. surged 559 percent, ranking it as the top gaining property in June with 5.3 million visitors. 

 

Consumers Log On For Travel-Related Resources

The Web continued to be a popular resource for consumers doing last-minute planning in June for their summer vacations, as the Travel Information category grew 6 percent (to 43.3 million visitors), led by Yahoo! Travel with 11.2 million visitors and Tripadvisor with 8 million visitors.  The Hotels/Resorts category grew 7 percent in June (to 36.5 million visitors), led by Hotels.com with 7.1 million visitors and Intercontinental Hotels Group with 5.5 million visitors.

 

Movie-Goers Logging On

Where have all the movie-goers gone?  Online. While the box office remained in a bit of a slump, consumer Web traffic to retail movie sites in June was booming with 25.2 million visitors (a 5-percent increase).  Leading the category was Netflix, which reached 10 million visitors in June, up 8 percent versus May.  Blockbuster also realized strong gains, up 13 percent to 6.6 million visitors. 

 

Top 50 Properties

In June, Yahoo! Sites remained the number one property, attracting more than 128 million unique visitors, while the Time Warner Network held its number two position for the second consecutive month, drawing more than 120 million unique visitors. As eager soccer fans logged on for World Cup stats, ESPN experienced a 10-percent increase in unique visitors, climbing four spots to number 32.  With the end of the school year, youngsters spent more time surfing the Internet, as reflected in increases to Disney Online, which enjoyed a substantial uptick in unique visitors, jumping from number 30 to number 19.  Finally, as Americans go online to share their summer vacation experiences with loved ones, Photobucket.com LLC entered the top 50 at number 47, attracting just under 14 million unique visitors.

 

Top 50 Ad Focus

The June Ad Focus Ranking saw Advertising.com reach more than 143 million Americans to retain its number one position, while Casale Media Network moved up one spot to number five, reaching 60 percent of Americans online.  Advertising Network, AdBrite, had a strong debut in June, entering the ranking at number 19, reaching 33 percent of the U.S. population online.  Gaming entities GameDaily Custom Network and EA Online Syndicated Games re-entered the ranking at numbers 35 and 50, respectively, contributing to the 8-percent increase to the Gaming Information category.

 

 

TABLE 3

 

Top Ten Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*  June 2006 vs. May 2006  Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users  Source: comScore Media Metrix
Property	May-06 (000)	Jun-06 (000)	Percentage Change	Rank by  Unique Visitors
Total Internet Population	172,120	172,907	0%	N/A
Fisher Communications, Inc.	800	5,276	559%	166
POSTOPIA.COM	1,822	3,473	91%	248
FREEWEBLAYOUTS.NET	3,038	4,479	47%	196
Spark Networks	2,698	3,651	35%	236
MYYEARBOOK.COM	3,048	4,039	33%	217
Coca-Cola Company	3,358	4,444	32%	197
BEST-PRICE.COM	3,692	4,880	32%	179
Heavy Networks	6,208	8,134	31%	106
TOPTVBYTES.COM	5,316	6,753	27%	129
Photobucket.com LLC	10,962	13,878	27%	47

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

 

TABLE 4

Top Ten Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors June 2006 vs. May 2006 Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users Source: comScore Media Metrix
	May-06 (000)	Jun-06 (000)	Percentage Change
Total Internet : Total Audience	172,120	172,907	0
Gay/Lesbian	1,776	2,055	16%
Online Gambling	20,652	23,289	13%
Coupons	16,768	18,806	12%
Teens	23,022	25,012	9%
Gaming Information	32,640	35,122	8%
Hotels/Resorts	34,001	36,530	7%
Toys	18,135	19,398	7%
Travel - Information	40,846	43,257	6%
Retail - Movies	23,951	25,223	5%
Classifieds	33,578	35,255	5%

 

 

TABLE 5

 

Top 50 Properties June 2006  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	172,907
1	Yahoo! Sites	128,671		26	Bank of America	23,263
2	Time Warner Network	120,606		27	Real.com Network	21,301
3	Microsoft Sites	117,679		28	CareerBuilder LLC	21,019
4	Google Sites	102,802		29	CBS Corporation	20,508
5	eBay	77,752		30	Gannett Sites	19,757
6	MYSPACE.COM	52,342		31	Shopzilla.com Sites	18,865
7	Ask Network	52,339		32	ESPN	17,742
8	Amazon Sites	49,040		33	Comcast Corporation	17,151
9	New York Times Digital	38,132		34	Vendare Media	17,133
10	Weather Channel, The	36,296		35	Cox Enterprises Inc.	16,268
11	Verizon Communications Corporation	35,282		36	ORBITZ.COM	15,911
12	Apple Computer, Inc.	31,099		37	Weatherbug Property	15,842
13	Viacom Online	30,222		38	WhitePages	15,656
14	Monster Worldwide	29,473		39	Trip Network Inc.	15,636
15	Expedia Inc	28,760		40	E.W. Scripps	14,960
16	CNET Networks	28,284		41	Bolt Media	14,941
17	Wikipedia Sites	27,295		42	UPS Sites	14,755
18	Adobe Sites	26,842		43	Ticketmaster	14,577
19	Disney Online	26,652		44	ARTISTdirect Network	14,527
20	United Online, Inc	25,735		45	iVillage.com: The Womens Network	14,330
21	AT&T, Inc.	25,554		46	USPS.COM	14,093
22	Wal-Mart	25,279		47	Photobucket.com LLC	13,878
23	Gorilla Nation Media	25,275		48	Capital One	13,848
24	Lycos, Inc.	23,560		49	EA Online	13,837
25	Target Corporation	23,484		50	Travelocity	13,769

 

 

TABLE 6

 

Ad Focus Ranking June 2006  Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations  Unique Visitors (000)  Source: comScore Media Metrix
Rank	Property	Unique Visitors (000)	Reach %		Rank	Property	Unique Visitors (000)	Reach %
	Total Internet Users	172,907	100%
1	Advertising.com**	143,614	83%		26	Disney Online	26,652	15%
2	Yahoo!	126,959	73%		27	WEATHER.COM	26,106	15%
3	ValueClick**	126,429	73%		28	Business.com Network	25,562	15%
4	AOL Media Network	113,360	66%		29	Lycos Network	23,418	14%
5	Casale Media Network**	104,572	60%		30	CareerBuilder Network	21,560	12%
6	Tribal Fusion**	103,682	60%		31	CNN	19,891	12%
7	MSN-Windows Live	100,327	58%		32	EXPEDIA.COM*	19,684	11%
8	Google	98,856	57%		33	IMDB.COM	18,471	11%
9	Vendare Media - TrafficMarketplace**	97,730	57%		34	GameDaily Custom Network	17,948	10%
10	AOL	87,991	51%		35	SuperPages	17,807	10%
11	YAHOO.COM Home Page	84,284	49%		36	ESPN	17,742	10%
12	24/7 Real Media**	83,117	48%		37	Vendare Media	17,133	10%
13	Burst Media**	79,004	46%		38	WebMD Health Network	17,121	10%
14	Tremor Network	69,435	40%		39	Travelocity All	16,106	9%
15	EBAY.COM	67,878	39%		40	ORBITZ.COM	15,911	9%
16	Blue Lithium**	59,935	35%		41	WeatherBug	15,683	9%
17	Gorilla Nation Media Network	59,355	34%		42	WhitePages Network	15,608	9%
18	DRIVEpm**	58,170	34%
19	AdBrite**	57,122	33%		43	REAL.COM*	14,795	9%
20	MSN.COM Home Page	54,782	32%		44	ARTISTdirect Network	14,527	8%
21	MYSPACE.COM	52,342	30%		45	WHITEPAGES.COM	14,508	8%
22	Ask Network	52,339	30%		46	iVillage.com: The Womens Network	14,330	8%
23	AdDynamix.com**	42,536	25%		47	MONSTER.COM*	14,144	8%
24	Vibrant Media**	40,722	24%		48	CLASSMATES.COM	13,963	8%
25	EBAY.COM Home Page	37,023	21%		49	EA Online Syndicated Games	13,859	8%
25	ABOUT.COM	33,112	19%		50	EA Online Games	13,758	8%

 

 

Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that viewed a particular entity at least once in June.  For instance, Yahoo! was seen by 73 percent of the more than 172 million Internet users in June. 

* Entity has assigned some portion of traffic to other syndicated entities.

** Denotes 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.

 

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