2024 State of Gaming Report
Controversy and Candidates Cause Spike to Political Sites
Yahoo! Sites Remains Top Property as Wikipedia Sites and New York Times Digital Move Up in the Top 10
RESTON, VA, October 18, 2007 –Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at top online properties for September 2007 from its Comscore MMX service. Political sites gained as political controversies grabbed headlines and the 2008 presidential campaigns kicked into high gear. Sports sites grew amid football season excitement, and several retail categories appear in the ranking of top gaining categories. The religion category saw significant gains for the second consecutive month.
“Traditionally, presidential campaigns pick up intensity after Labor Day with the primaries just around the corner,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of Comscore MMX. “So it’s no surprise to see a jump in activity in the September before an election year. With the Internet playing an increasingly important role in American politics, it will be interesting to see if the growth trends continue as we inch closer to November 2008.”
Controversial Ad and Presidential Candidates Fuel Growth in Political Category
The politics category surged 17 percent in September, attracting 8.4 million visitors and ranking as the top-gaining category for the month. Two political controversies also helped fuel interest in the category, as Idaho Sen. Larry Craig’s airport sex scandal and MoveOn.org’s controversial “General Betray Us” ad in the New York Times had the airwaves abuzz. Capitol Advantage led the category with 794,000 visitors (up 31 percent), followed by MoveOn.org, which jumped 81 percent to 608,000 visitors as a result of the controversy. Among the Republican presidential contenders, the Web sites for Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson (Fred08.com) and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (MittRomney.com) made their first appearances in the rankings, attracting 273,000 and 127,000 visitors, respectively.
Football Season Drives Increase to Sports Sites
With September marking the beginning of football season in the United States, the sports category experienced an 8-percent increase to nearly 80 million visitors. Yahoo! Sports led the category 24.6 million visitors (up 22 percent), barely edging out ESPN with 24.2 million visitors (up 22 percent). NFL Internet Group rose 26 percent to 18.1 million visitors.
Retail Sites See Growth in September
Several retail specific categories experienced growth in September. Retail food jumped 14 percent to 13.7 million visitors, led by Papajohnsonline.com with 1.6 million visitors (up 4 percent), which likely saw a boost from football season. Flowers, gifts and greetings saw a 9-percent increase to more than 29 million visitors, as American Greetings Property held the top spot with 6.6 million visitors (up 4 percent). Fragrances and cosmetics also gained in September, growing 6 percent to 14.3 million visitors, led by Avon Products Inc. with 3.6 million visitors (up 19 percent).
Religion Category Sees Significant Gains for Second Consecutive Month
On the heels of a 5-percent gain in August, the religion category rose 13 percent in September, reaching nearly 22 million visitors. BeliefNet Network led the category with 2.9 million visitors (up 13 percent), followed by Salem Web Network with 1.8 million visitors (up 15 percent) and ChristianBook.com with 1.6 million visitors (up 12 percent).
Top 50 Properties
September saw Wikipedia Sites and New York Times Digital each gain one spot in the rankings, capturing positions eight and 10, respectively. ESPN jumped 16 positions to number 24, with more than 24 million visitors, while CBS Corporation moved up seven spots to number 17 with more than 30 million unique visitors. iVillage.com: The Women’s Network, NFL Internet Group, EA Online, and Dictionary.com Sites all entered the rankings in September.
Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking
Advertising.com remained atop the Ad Focus Ranking in September, reaching 88 percent of the 181 million Americans online with their advertising. Yahoo! moved up a spot to number two, reaching 74 percent of Internet users, while Specific Media gained two spots to claim the number four position. Blue Lithium and AOL Media Network also enjoyed increases, reaching 65 percent and 61 percent of Americans online, respectively. Collective Media joined the ranking this month at number 22, reaching 41 percent of the online population, while ESPN (number 47) and CareerBuilder Network (number 48) also entered the rankings.
TABLE 1
Comscore Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors* (U.S.)September 2007 vs. August 2007Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet UsersSource: Comscore MMX
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Aug-07
Sep-07
% Change
Rank by Unique Visitors
Total Internet : Total Audience
181,257
181,858
0
N/A
Internet Brands, Inc.
2,742
7,424
171
127
HotChalk Network
3,315
6,379
92
150
GamesRadar Network
3,138
4,864
55
197
Liberty Media Holding Corporation
5,432
8,298
53
108
ABC.com
6,135
9,236
51
97
ImageShack.us
4,674
6,602
41
142
Pearson Education
8,633
11,563
34
78
Dictionary.com Sites
11,763
15,660
33
50
Reed Elsevier Group
3,738
4,888
31
195
Gemstar-TVGuide International, Inc.
4,339
5,627
30
177
*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in September 2007
TABLE 2
Comscore Top 10 Gaining Categories by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors (U.S.)September 2007 vs. August 2007Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet UsersSource: Comscore MMX
Politics
7,213
8,413
17
Retail - Food
12,015
13,682
14
Religion
19,401
21,914
13
Flowers/Gifts/Greetings
26,908
29,238
9
Sports
73,717
79,974
8
Information
63,234
67,852
7
Online Gambling
13,001
13,834
6
Fragrances/Cosmetics
13,471
14,329
Reference
77,961
82,197
5
Technology - News
42,326
43,954
4
TABLE 3
Comscore Top 50 Properties (U.S.)September 2007Total U.S. - Home, Work and University LocationsUnique Visitors (000)Source: Comscore MMX
Rank
Property
Unique Visitors
(000)
1
Yahoo! Sites
135,578
26
Verizon Communications Corporation
23,982
2
Google Sites
129,508
27
CRAIGSLIST.ORG
23,124
3
Time Warner Network
121,894
28
Bank of America
22,997
Microsoft Sites
119,193
29
United Online, Inc
22,908
Fox Interactive Media
79,951
Yellowpages.com Network
22,808
eBay
78,105
CareerBuilder LLC
22,507
Amazon Sites
53,803
32
Glam Media
22,421
Wikipedia Sites
52,800
Shopzilla.com Sites
22,272
Ask Network
51,723
Photobucket.com LLC
21,349
10
New York Times Digital
45,276
35
Disney Online
21,343
11
Viacom Digital
44,300
36
Gannett Sites
20,829
12
Apple Inc.
43,122
37
Lycos Sites
20,273
Weather Channel, The
37,571
38
Real.com Network
19,998
CNET Networks
32,687
39
Superpages.com Network
18,980
15
Adobe Sites
30,847
40
iVillage.com: The Womens Network
18,837
16
FACEBOOK.COM
30,601
WebMD Health
18,366
CBS Corporation
30,118
42
NFL Internet Group
18,081
18
Gorilla Nation
30,097
43
ARTISTdirect Network
17,829
19
Target Corporation
28,749
44
NBC Universal
17,132
20
AT&T, Inc.
28,301
45
E.W. Scripps
17,080
21
Wal-Mart
27,036
46
Weatherbug Property
16,772
22
Monster Worldwide
25,615
47
The Mozilla Organization
16,724
23
Expedia Inc
25,058
48
Cox Enterprises Inc.
16,224
24
ESPN
24,168
49
EA Online
15,784
25
Comcast Corporation
24,007
TABLE 4
Comscore Ad Focus Ranking (U.S.)September 2007Total U.S. - Home, Work and University LocationsUnique Visitors (000)Source: Comscore MMX
Unique Visitors (000)
Reach %
100%
Advertising.com**
160,166
88%
Vibrant Media**
68,644
38%
Yahoo!
133,957
74%
AdDynamix.com**
68,481
ValueClick**
133,507
73%
MYSPACE.COM
68,449
Specific Media**
130,716
72%
EBAY.COM
67,124
37%
Tribal Fusion**
129,615
71%
Gorilla Nation Media
65,250
36%
Google Ad Network**
123,352
68%
Undertone Networks**
56,304
31%
Google
122,107
67%
PrecisionClick**
54,864
30%
Blue Lithium**
118,684
65%
MSN.COM Home Page
54,161
AOL Media Network
111,411
61%
28%
Casale Media Network**
111,066
Mapquest
50,031
Traffic Marketplace**
109,856
60%
YOUTUBE.COM
47,486
26%
DRIVEpm**
105,926
58%
Business.com Network
44,738
25%
MSN-Windows Live
104,578
AMAZON.COM
44,224
24%
YAHOO.COM Home Page
94,124
52%
Kontera**
42,461
23%
24/7 Real Media**
91,493
50%
EBAY.COM Home Page
39,534
22%
Tremor Media
90,432
ABOUT.COM
38,751
21%
AOL
90,297
17%
Interclick**
81,732
45%
WEATHER.COM
27,526
15%
Burst Media**
81,412
Real Cities Network
25,879
14%
adconion media group**
77,732
43%
CNN
24,622
Centro
77,427
WALMART.COM
24,394
13%
Collective Media**
75,276
41%
AdBrite**
73,569
40%
CareerBuilder Network
23,299
ContextWeb**
72,981
Nick Kids & Family
22,852
CPX Interactive**
70,242
39%
Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that viewed a particular entity at least once in September. For instance, Yahoo! was seen by 74 percent of the almost 182 million Internet users in September.* Entity has assigned some portion of traffic to other syndicated entities.** Denotes an advertising network.
About Comscore MMX
Comscore MMX provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report 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 MMX reports are used by financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers. Comscore MMX syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.
About ComscoreComscore, 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, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.
Contact:Sarah RadwanickDirector, Regional Product MarketingComscore, Inc. +44 (0) 20 7099 1784worldpress@comscore.com