Live Coverage of Presidential Inauguration Drives Significant Incremental Viewership of Online Video at MSNBC, CNN and FoxNews Web Sites

Live Coverage of Presidential Inauguration Drives Significant Incremental Viewership of Online Video at MSNBC, CNN and FoxNews Web Sites

Viewership at Top 3 Cable News Networks Surges Fourteen-Fold Between 12-1 PM EST on Inauguration Day

RESTON, Va., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- comScore (NASDAQ:SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study of U.S. video streaming activity on Inauguration Day (Tuesday January 20, 2009), based on the comScore Video Metrix video measurement service. The data for Inauguration Day were compared to the Tuesday from the week prior (January 13, 2009) to serve as a baseline comparison for a typical Tuesday.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO)

The study showed that total online video viewing experienced a significant uptick between the hour of 12:00 - 1:00 PM EST, during which Barack Obama took the oath of office and delivered his inaugural address. Compared to the baseline period, the number of unique video viewers increased 45 percent to 13 million, while the number of videos viewed grew 33 percent to 49.5 million and total minutes spent viewing video climbed 129 percent to 190 million.

Rise in Online Video Viewing on Inauguration Day between 12-1 PM EST
January 20, 2009 vs. January 13, 2009
Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore Video Metrix
12:00 - 1:00 PM EST
Jan. 13, 2009 Jan. 20, 2009 Percent Change
Unique Viewers (000) 8,945 13,004 45%
Videos Viewed (000) 37,107 49,523 33%
Total Minutes (000) 82,954 189,739 129%

The top three cable TV news sites, MSNBC.com, CNN.com, and FoxNews.com, attracted a disproportionate increase in the number of viewers compared to the Internet at large. The 4.1 million viewers who watched video on those sites during the 12-1 PM EST hour represented a fourteen-fold increase from the previous Tuesday.

Increase in Number of Online Videos Viewers on Inauguration Day
between 12-1 PM EST
January 20, 2009 vs. January 13, 2009
Total U.S. - Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore Video Metrix
Unique Viewers (000) - 12:00 - 1:00 PM EST
Jan. 13, 2009 Jan. 20, 2009 Percent Change
Total U.S. Internet 8,945 13,004 45%
Top 3 Cable News Sites* 277 4,138 1390%
*MSBNC.com, CNN.com and FoxNews.com

"Online video coverage of President Obama's inauguration appears to represent a significant incremental audience to TV, since it presumably includes many people at work who did not have access to a TV," said Tania Yuki, senior product manager for comScore Video Metrix. "As such, the thirteen million online viewers during this time period likely represent a 32 percent addition to the reported 40 million people who viewed the inauguration on TV. And, that so much of this online audience flocked to the Web sites of the major cable TV news outlets reflects a direct channel shift from TV to the Internet."

"Although numerous online video sites carried live streaming coverage of the inauguration, 30 percent of those who watched online gravitated toward the cable TV news sites," added Yuki. "Much like TV, people have a tendency to tune into specific channels when they are consuming a certain type of content. However, unlike TV, the online video channel offers greater flexibility in how, where and when it can provide these experiences and what digital strategies can be employed to attract the right audiences. The CNN-Facebook partnership is a good example of such a strategy."

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ:SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit http://www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080115/COMSCORELOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: comScore, Inc.

CONTACT: Andrew Lipsman of comScore, Inc., +1-312-775-6510,
press@comscore.com

Web site: http://www.comscore.com/

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