Consumers set up a blockbuster holiday season at the Box Office
Fox’s MySpace.com Includes More than 4.5 Billion Pages Viewed from University Locations
RESTON, Va., December 18, 2006 – Comscore Networks, a leader in measuring the digital age, today released a study analyzing the impact of visitation from university locations at the top two Web properties, Fox Interactive Media (which includes MySpace.com) and Yahoo! Sites. Eight percent of all Web content consumed by U.S. Internet users, as measured in page views, comes from university settings. At Fox Interactive Media – the top Internet property in November on the basis of page views – 12 percent of content is viewed at university locations, while only 6 percent of page views at Yahoo! Sites occur at university locations.
If college usage is omitted, a comparison of page views at Fox Interactive Media and Yahoo! Sites tells a very different story: Yahoo! Sites, with 35.6 billion page views for November, would rank higher than Fox Interactive Media with 34.9 billion.
Top Online Properties by Pages ViewedNovember 2006Total U.S. – Home, Work and University LocationsSource: Comscore MMX
Total Pages Viewed (MM)
% of All Location Pages Viewed at Universities
All Locations
University Locations
Home & Work Locations Only
Total Internet: Total Audience (U.S.)
454,212
34,921
419,290
8%
Fox Interactive Media
39,529
4,617
34,912
12%
MySpace.com
38,727
4,554
34,173
Yahoo! Sites
38,052
2,411
35,641
6%
“Recent media coverage of the total page views for Fox Interactive Media and Yahoo! Sites underscores the critical role that university measurement plays in the accurate reporting of Web site visitation,” said Dr. Magid Abraham, President and CEO of Comscore Networks. “While some research companies showed a lower page view count for Fox and Yahoo! than did Comscore, our data agree that Yahoo! is still the leader if one looks at only the usage from home and work locations. However, the key reason for the apparent discrepancy is Internet usage from university locations, which Comscore uniquely measures. In the case of sites such as MySpace.com, which generates a substantial share of their visitation among college students, the failure to account for college users significantly underestimates the true number of total page views. Only Comscore, with its robust university sample, is able to provide a comprehensive and accurate view of visitation to all sites.”
Comscore Leading Innovation in Measuring Evolving Internet Landscape
The recent decline reported by Comscore in Yahoo! Sites page views underscores another emerging issue in the Web metrics measurement industry. New technologies such as AJAX – which enable real-time site updates without needing to refresh a page – are impacting the relevance of page views as an accurate measure of the intensity of consumers’ Internet usage. Yahoo! in particular has begun implementing AJAX and other Web 2.0 technologies across their sites.
“The Internet experience today is much more dynamic thanks to Web 2.0 technologies like AJAX,” continued Dr. Abraham. “While page views will not altogether cease to be a relevant measure of a site’s value, it’s clear that there is an increasing need to consider page views alongside newer, more relevant measures. Comscore is proud to continue carrying the torch as an industry innovator with the development of a new suite of metrics that will effectively address the Web 2.0 landscape by including enhanced measures of user engagement and advertising exposure. We will be introducing these new metrics to the industry in 2007.”
About Comscore Networks
Comscore Networks is a global leader in measuring the digital age. 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 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 Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.
PressBill DaddiDaddi Brand Communications646-370-1341press@comscore.com