CBSSports.com Loyalty Metrics Continue to Shine

CBSSports.com Loyalty Metrics Continue to Shine

CBSSports.com users visit more often, spend more time

28% traffic increase in July leads all sports sites; 170% year-over-year growth in community sign ups fuels engagement

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- CBSSports.com today announced that according to July traffic data from Nielsen//NetRatings, CBSSports.com is again dominating all major sports sites in the "loyalty metrics" - visits per person and time per person. July marked the third consecutive month that CBSSports.com has led all major sports sites in those two consumption metrics. CBSSports.com put together an even more impressive streak in 2007 when it led visits per person and time per person for more than half of the entire year.

Overall traffic to CBSSports.com saw healthy growth in July with a 28% rise over June, the largest monthly increase in the sports category.

Several factors contributed to the monthly traffic increase as well as continued leadership position in visits per person and time per person.

-- Focus on community: The CBSSports.com Community has seen tremendous growth with a 170% year-over-year increase in sign-ups. The highly engaged members of the CBSSports.com Community develop a "reputation" on the site by not only contributing to message boards, but also by connecting with other users, participating in fantasy games and by the overall frequency of their behavior. Select CBSSports.com Community members have the ability to create their very own sports blog on the site with their entries possibly being posted on the CBSSports.com homepage, alongside works by veteran sports writers such as Scott Miller (MLB), Dennis Dodd (CFB) and Pete Prisco (NFL).

-- Focus on SEO: Since the acquisition of CNET Networks, CBS Interactive properties have been refining their search engine optimization (SEO) techniques by tapping into CNET's expertise in SEO. In the month of July alone, CBSSports.com saw a 60% year-over-year increase in traffic from search engines via "natural" search results.

"This traffic growth is spectacular, especially in terms of engagement, as it comes during the normally slow summer months and just in time for football," said Jason Kint, Senior Vice President and General Manager of CBSSports.com. "I don't think you can underestimate the positive impact that the recent focus on SEO has had on our traffic. It's another clear example of the benefits of the CNET acquisition to CBSSports.com and CBS Interactive as a whole."

Loyalty Metrics for July 2008

(Nielsen//NetRatings, July 2008)

Time per Person: CBSSports.com led all major sports sites in Time per Person for the fourth consecutive month in July. Over the past four months, CBSSports.com users averaged an hour and 21 minutes of usage per month. To put that number in perspective in relation to our competitors, the next closest sports site averaged 38 minutes of consumption per month over that time period, 53% less than CBSSports.com.

Visits per Person: CBSSports.com led all major sports sites in Visits per Person for the third consecutive month in July. Over the past three months, CBSSports.com users averaged 8.7 visits per month. The next closest sports site averaged just 7.1 visits per month over that time period, 18% less than CBSSports.com.

*For purposes of this release, "major sports sites" include FoxSports.com, SI.com, Yahoo Sports, ESPN.com, AOL Sports, MLB.com, PGATOUR.com, NASCAR.com, NBA.com and NFL.com

About CBS Interactive

CBS Interactive, a division of CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS.A)(NYSE:and)(NYSE:CBS), is the premier online content network for information and entertainment. Its portfolio of leading brands, which include CNET, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET, and Last.fm span popular categories like technology, entertainment, sports, news, music and business. With more than 150 million people visiting its properties each month, CBS Interactive is a top 10 web property globally.

More information about CBS and its businesses is available at www.cbscorporation.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: CBSSports.com

CONTACT: Alex Riethmiller of CBSSports.com, +1-954-489-4235,
ariethmiller@cbs.com

Web site: http://www.cbssports.com/
http://www.cbscorporation.com/

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