Spanish Language Interface Introduction Helps Facebook Surge into Second Position
LONDON, U.K., February 25, 2009 –Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the results of a study of Spanish and European social networking site usage, based on data from the Comscore World Metrix audience measurement service. The study showed that 13.2 million Spanish Internet users visited at least one social networking site in December 2008, representing 73.7 percent of the total Spanish Internet audience.
Social Networking Attracts Three Quarters of European Internet Users
Of the 282.7 million European Internet users age 15 and over who went online via a home or work computer in December 2008, 211 million visited a social networking site – a reach of 74.6 percent and a growth of 13.7 percentage points versus the previous year. Of the 16 individual European countries studied, social networking reach in Spain was second only to the U.K. at 73.7 percent, having grown 10.8 percentage points versus the previous year.
European Social Networking Reach by CountryTotal Europe, Age 15+ - Home & Work Locations*December 2008 vs. December 2007Source: Comscore World Metrix
Country
Percentage Reach
Dec-2007
Dec-2008
Point change
Europe
61.0
74.6
13.7
United Kingdom
78.4
79.8
1.4
Spain
62.8
73.7
10.8
Portugal
65.7
72.9
7.2
Denmark
54.4
69.7
15.3
Italy
56.5
69.3
12.9
Belgium
59.0
68.2
9.2
Germany
48.4
67.3
19.0
Ireland
59.9
66.9
7.0
Finland
61.2
66.2
5.0
Sweden
61.3
65.4
4.1
Switzerland
53.7
64.7
11.0
France
52.2
63.9
11.8
Russian Federation
46.1
63.5
17.4
Netherlands
57.2
63.0
5.8
Norway
54.2
58.9
4.8
Austria
38.8
49.7
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Tuenti Outranks Facebook as Most Popular Social Networking Site in Spain
Approximately 13 million Spanish Internet users visited a social networking site in December 2008 - up 41 percent versus the previous year. The most popular social networking property was Spanish site Tuenti.com, which grew 770 percent over the course of the year to 5.6 million visitors in December 2008. Hot on the Spanish property’s heels was Facebook.com, which grew 1,147 percent versus the previous year to 4.3 million visitors in December, followed by Fotolog.com (3.4 million visitors), and Hi5.com (2 million visitors).
“2008 was a significant year for social networking in Spain,” said Mike Read, SVP and Managing Director of Comscore, Europe. “Thanks to the success of both Facebook and local language player Tuenti.com, the overall size of the social networking audience grew significantly over the course of the year, adding over three and a half million Spanish users. Having introduced its Spanish language interface in February last year, it will be interesting to see if Facebook can further close the gap on Tuenti in 2009, or if the market will reach an equilibrium and find room for both properties as leading destinations for the Spanish social networking community.”
A Selection of Leading Social Networking Sites Ranked by Total Spanish Unique Visitors (000)*Total Spain, Age 15+ - Home & Work LocationsDecember 2008 vs. December 2007Source: Comscore World Metrix
Property
% Change
Total Spanish Internet Audience
14,906
17,893
20%
Social Networking
9,367
13,185
41%
Tuenti.com
649
5,644
770%
Facebook.com
346
4,316
1,147%
Fotolog.com
3,141
3,351
7%
Hi5.com
738
1,997
170%
Metroflog.com
1,572
1,937
23%
Sonico.com
N/A
1,629
MySpace Sites
1,462
Badoo.com
883
1,249
Netlog.com
299
339
13%
Skyrock
236
289
22%
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/boilerplate
Ayaan MohamudComscore, Inc.+ 44 (0) 207-099-1775worldpress@comscore.com