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 11^th 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.

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