Napster Soars 92 Percent In Daily Traffic, According To
Nielsen//NetRatings

NEW YORK – July 31, 2000 – The Internet ratings report for the week ending July 23 from Nielsen//NetRatings, the Internet audience measurement service in the industry from Nielsen Media Research, ACNielsen eRatings.com and NetRatings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTRT), shows that the media spotlight on Napster in the past week has caused more people to visit the site and download the file-swapping software.  Napster.com rose 92 percent in traffic to peak at 849,000 unique home visitors on Friday, July 28, the day the court stay was granted, from Tuesday, July 25, the day before the federal court’s ruling (see Table 1). 

The site broke the 800,000 unique visitor mark both on Friday and Saturday, covering more than three percent of all active home Internet users each day.  In addition, on Friday, the day the stay was announced, downloads of Napster software more than doubled from the day before to 22 percent of its audience, indicating renewed interest (see Table 2).

"The increase in the downloads of Napster on the heels of the court stay is a strong indication that digital downloading has hit critical mass among American Web consumers,” said Allen Weiner, vice president of analytical services at NetRatings.  “The data underscores the consumers’ thirst for MP3 music.  Rather than fight this evolution, the entertainment industry should embrace it and develop sensible solutions to capitalize on this market opportunity."

Table 1. Daily Traffic to Napster.com, July 17-29, At-Home

Date

Unique Audience

Page Views

 Reach %

Time (hrs:min:sec)

17-Jul

               686,157

          1,544,771

          1.3

0:05:11

18-Jul

               740,209

          2,141,762

          1.4

0:06:39

19-Jul

               730,423

          1,608,282

          1.4

0:04:36

20-Jul

               621,416

          1,542,861

          1.2

0:05:18

21-Jul

               577,231

          1,168,428

          1.2

0:05:15

22-Jul

               620,418

          1,544,969

          1.4

0:06:38

23-Jul

               746,014

          2,020,927

          1.6

0:06:24

24-Jul

               512,145

          1,254,267

          1.7

0:05:01

25-Jul

               443,070

          1,285,383

          1.5

0:05:51

26-Jul

               690,046

          1,932,243

          2.3

0:05:15

27-Jul

               758,372

          2,114,123

          2.6

0:05:04

28-Jul

               849,196

          3,046,215

          3.1

0:05:04

29-Jul

               828,259

          2,996,580

          3.1

0:05:25

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings Daily Overnight Analysis

Table 2. Percentage of Napster’s Audience that Download the Software, At-Home

Event

Date

% of Napster Software Downloads
 

23-Jul

                  15.4

 

24-Jul

                  15.4

 

25-Jul

                  11.5

Injunction ordered

26-Jul

                  13.5

 

27-Jul

                  10.2

Stay announced

28-Jul

                  22.2

 

29-Jul

                  20.8

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings Daily Overnight Analysis

Weekly Internet Ratings
The following set of at-home and at-work information includes:  Top 25 Web Properties, Top 10 Internet Advertisers, Top 10 Banner Ads and Average Web Usage statistics for the week ending July 23, 2000.

 

Nielsen//NetRatings: Top 25 Web Sites by Property
July 17 – 23, 2000

Ranking of the Most Visited Web Properties

Top 25 Properties, At-Home

  

Top 25 Properties, At-Work

Property

Unique Audience (000)

Time Per Person (hrs:min:sec)

  

Property

Unique Audience (000)

Time Per Person (hrs:min:sec)

1. AOL Websites

28,069

0:13:45

  

1. Yahoo!

13,496

0:38:57

2. Yahoo!

25,227

0:28:54

  

2. AOL Websites

12,757

0:17:53

3. MSN

19,268

0:21:37

  

3. MSN

10,775

0:28:28

4. Microsoft

16,189

0:06:05

  

4. Microsoft

9,730

0:08:26

5. Lycos Network

9,482

0:12:38

  

5. Lycos Network

5,612

0:14:43

6. Excite@Home

8,462

0:16:03

  

6. Excite@Home

5,156

0:16:24

7. GO Network

7,556

0:12:42

  

7. GO Network

4,550

0:18:49

8. eUniverse Network

5,271

0:07:43

  

8. Time Warner

3,540

0:14:55

9. Time Warner

5,195

0:09:14

  

9. AltaVista

3,358

0:12:25

10.  AltaVista

5,077

0:09:04

  

10.  Amazon

3,183

0:12:29

11.  eBay

4,952

0:51:08

  

11.  eBay

2,883

1:10:45

12.  NBC Internet

4,801

0:08:06

  

12.  About.com

2,657

0:06:57

13.  About.com

4,681

0:07:06

  

13.  NBC Internet

2,556

0:08:36

14.  Amazon

3,846

0:09:27

  

14.  iWon.com Inc.

2,531

0:35:39

15.  iWon.com Inc.

3,674

0:28:34

  

15.  eUniverse Network

2,282

0:08:18

16.  LookSmart

3,268

0:04:21

  

16.  CNET Networks

2,052

0:06:36

17.  Ask Jeeves

3,114

0:07:04

  

17.  ZDNet

1,812

0:08:07

18.  The Go2Net Network

3,037

0:05:35

  

18.  The Go2Net Network

1,763

0:07:29

19.  EarthLink

2,944

0:09:50

  

19.  CNN

1,742

0:21:07

20.  CNET Networks

2,441

0:06:12

  

20.  Ask Jeeves

1,738

0:06:25

21.  iVillage

2,423

0:08:36

  

21.  EarthLink

1,551

0:09:45

22.  Real Networks

2,393

0:03:57

  

22.  LookSmart

1,465

0:05:21

23.  Viacom International

2,390

0:12:32

  

23.  Weather Channel

1,459

0:07:11

24.  American Greetings

2,378

0:08:15

  

24.  Real Networks

1,415

0:03:30

25.  Snowball

2,338

0:12:20

  

25.  Mapquest

1,414

0:07:31

Example:  The data indicate that 2.3 million home Internet users visited at least one of the Snowball-owned sites during the week, and each person spent, on average, a total of 12 minutes and 20 seconds at one or more of their sites.

Notes:  Rankings are based on audience measurement of people who have access to the Internet at-home and at-work.  Work rankings are based on persons at work who have access to a non-shared personal computer.  A property is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs owned by a single entity.  Reach is a measure of the unduplicated audience that visits a property.  The data are expressed as the percentage of the total universe of Internet users who logged onto the Internet at least once during the reporting period.

 

Nielsen//NetRatings: Top Ten Advertisers
July 17 – 23, 2000

Top advertisers, ranked by banner impressions, are based on data from BannerTrackSM, Nielsen//NetRatings' syndicated advertising research report.  An impression is counted each time an ad banner is fully loaded onto a user’s screen.

Top 10 Advertisers, At-Home

   Top 10 Advertisers, At-Work

Advertiser*

 Impressions (000)

 Reach %

  

Advertiser*

 Impressions (000)

 Reach %

1. TRUSTe

504,182

24.5

  

1. TRUSTe

389,978

33.1

2. Microsoft

370,575

37.1

  

2. Microsoft

238,510

44.3

3. Yahoo!

228,033

28.9

  

3. Yahoo!

156,475

35.7

4. America Online

128,434

26.2

  

4. AllAdvantage

141,405

3.2

5. AllAdvantage

120,409

3.9

  

5. Amazon

81,290

38.9

6. Amazon

110,318

30.0

  

6. E*TRADE

65,031

14.5

7. eBay

95,392

14.8

  

7. eBay

63,404

17.1

8. Casino On Net

90,832

12.5

  

8. National Discount Brokers

61,029

7.2

9. Next Card

71,844

17.8

  

9. Datek

57,706

10.4

10.  Barnes and Noble

67,582

20.2

  

10.  SkyAuction

56,156

1.8

*Impressions reported include house ads, which are ads that run on an advertiser’s own web property.

Example:  An estimated 67.5 million Barnes and Noble ad banners were completely loaded on at-home users’ computers during the surfing week.  These banners were delivered to 20.2 percent or 12.8 million home Internet users.

 

Nielsen//NetRatings: Top Ten Ad Banners Viewed
July 17 – 23, 2000

Top Banners, ranked according to reach percentage, are cited from BannerTrackSM, Nielsen//NetRatings' syndicated ad research service.

Top 10 Ad Banners Viewed At-Home

Advertiser*

Reach %

Creative

1. Bonzi Software

7.6

Warning: Your Internet Connection Is Not Optimized. Download InternetBOOST ’99 Now!

2. Capital One

7.2

How FAST do you want your credit decision?

3. ClassMates

5.5

Do you know this person?  Who could she be?

4. E Term

5.5

Save 50-70% on Term Life Insurance

5. Capital One

5.1

How FAST do you want your credit decision?  9.9% Fixed APR

6. Capital One

4.8

0% Intro>>9.9% Fixed.  Not just another pretty card

7. Network Solutions

4.8

Want a Web Address? Type it here!

8. Barnes and Noble

4.5

Save up to 90% at barnesandnoble.comon bargain books!!  Shop Now!

9. AmeriDebt

4.4

Danger!  Bill Problems?  We Can Help You Save $!

10.  Next Card

4.4

How long does your VISA APR go? How about a 2.9% APR from Next Card.

Top 10 Ad Banners Viewed At-Work

Advertiser*

Reach %

Creative

1. Bonzi Software

15.1

Warning: Your Internet Connection Is Not Optimized. Download InternetBOOST ’99 Now!

2. TreeLoot

9.5

Punch the monkey and win $20!*

3. E Term

8.9

Save 50-70% on Term Life Insurance

4. Capital One

8.5

How FAST do you want your credit decision?

5. Next Card

7.6

How long does your VISA APR go? How about a 2.9% APR from Next Card.

6. GetSmart

7.6

Find a mortgage.  On your terms.

7. Network Solutions

7.5

Want a Web Address? Type it here!

8. ClassMates

7.4

Do you know this person?  Who could she be?

9. Capital One

7.2

How FAST do you want your credit decision?  9.9% Fixed APR

10.  NewDomain

7.1

Get a domain now.  Only $15.

*Ad banners that run predominantly on an advertiser's own property or house ads are not included in the above.

 

Nielsen//NetRatings: Average Internet Usage
July 17 – 23, 2000

Data below represent activity for the average Internet user during the designated weekly period.

 

Current Week At-Home

% Change from Last Week

  

Current Week At-Work

% Change from Last Week

Number of Sessions per Week

6

0

  

11

+10.0

Number of Unique Sites Visited

6

0

  

13

+8.3

Page Views per Week

232

0

  

383

+4.4

Page Views per Surfing Session

39

0

  

36

+2.9

Time Spent per Week

 3: 07: 10

-0.9

  

 5: 42: 47

+3.4

Time Spent during Surfing Session

 0: 31: 23

+0.1

  

 0: 32: 15

+1.5

Duration of a Page viewed

 0: 00: 48

0

  

 0: 00: 54

-1.3

Average Click Rate for Top Banners

0.28

-12.5

  

0.2

25.0

Active Internet Universe (actually surfed)

 63.7 million

+0.7

  

 28.2 million

-0.4

Current Internet Universe Estimate (had access, but did not necessarily go online)

 144.2 million

-0.1

  

 34.1 million

0

About Nielsen//NetRatings
Nielsen//NetRatings, the audience measurement service from Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, Inc., collects real-time data from more than 65,000 panel members in the United States.  The U.S. panel sample consists of 57,000 at-home users and 8,000 at-work users.  These panels collectively represent the largest representative media research sample of Internet users in the industry.  Worldwide, Nielsen//NetRatings services are provided via a partnership with ACNielsen eRatings.com, and measure the Internet experiences of more than 150,000 Internet users.  

Nielsen//NetRatings services use unique technology capable of measuring both Internet use and advertising to provide the most timely, accurate and comprehensive Internet usage data and advertising information in the global marketplace.  Nielsen//NetRatings services leverage proprietary data-collection technology from NetRatings, Nielsen Media Research's 50 years of expertise in research and audience measurement, and ACNielsen’s international leadership in supplying market research information covering more than 100 countries.

Editor’s Note:  Please source all data to Nielsen//NetRatings.

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