RESTON, VA, March 31, 2006 - comScore Media Metrix today announced the results of their analysis of viewing of live video streams during the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In their inaugural offering of completely free, live online content, CBS SportsLine, CBS Sports and the NCAA teamed up to broadcast live Internet video for the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament as part of their March Madness On Demand™ coverage.  comScore data show that the live coverage delivered 14.9 million streams during the first two days (Thursday and Friday, March 16-17) of the first round of games, 77 percent of which originated from work locations. Over the four days of the first two rounds (March 16 - 19), a total of 16.4 million streams were delivered.

 

During the first day of the tournament, 700,000 unique visitors entered the "waiting room" with 608,000 of them eventually accessing the live video feed.  Of those accessing the feed, 79 percent, or 479,000, actually viewed the games.  The second day of action saw 552,000 unique visitors enter the waiting room, with 524,000 of them accessing the video feed and 462,000 (88 percent) tuning into the games.

 

comScore Data Consistent with CBS' Internal Streaming Video Data

comScore's reported 16.4 million Internet streams is consistent with CBS's published reports of "over 14 million streams."  The slight difference in figures is explained by comScore's inclusion of streams of non-game content such as ads, historical clips and highlights into its reported data.

 

March Madness On Demand™ Proves Value of Streaming to Internet Advertisers

"The popularity of March Madness On Demand™ is a testament to the significant progress of streaming video over the past few years.  The poor quality streaming video that once permeated the Internet, often taking several minutes to load and taxing bandwidth considerably, has been replaced by instantaneous downloads that deliver significantly improved quality," said Peter Daboll, President of comScore Media Metrix.

 

"I believe that the success of March Madness On Demand™ is certainly a predictor of things to come for streaming video.  The high quality manner in which CBS SportsLine was able to provide such a large number of concurrent streams speaks volumes about the capacity of the Internet to fulfill the public's demand for live video content," continued Mr. Daboll.  "It is also likely that Dell Computers and Courtyard by Marriott scored favorably among basketball fans as the presenting sponsors of March Madness On Demand™, proving that streaming content represents an exciting new advertising channel with the ability to reach millions of consumers.  The success of this event, including the effective use of video advertising to reach consumers at work, could prove to be the tipping point where television ad budgets begin to shift online."

 

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 proprietary 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, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Orbitz.  For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

 

Contact:
Andrew Lipsman
comScore Networks
(312) 775-6510
press@comscore.com