Podcasting Gains An Important Foothold Among U.s. Adult Online ...
For Immediate Release:
NetRatings,
Inc.
Suzy Bausch (408) 941-2965
Leilani Han (408) 941-2930
PODCASTING GAINS AN IMPORTANT FOOTHOLD AMONG U.S. ADULT ONLINE POPULATION,
ACCORDING TO NIELSEN//NETRATINGS
Podcasters Most Likely to Be Young, Apple Fans
NEW YORK– July 12, 2006– Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in Internet media and market research,
announced today that 6.6 percent of the U.S. adult online population, or 9.2 million Web users, have
recently downloaded an audio podcast; 4.0 percent, or 5.6 million Web users, have recently downloaded
a video podcast (see Table 1). These figures put the podcasting population on a par with those who
publish blogs, 4.8 percent, and online daters, 3.9 percent. However, podcasting is not yet nearly as
popular as viewing and paying bills online, 51.6 percent, or online job hunting, 24.6 percent.
Podcasting is a relatively new technology that enables users to quickly and easily download multimedia
files, including audio and video, for playback on mobile devices including iPods and other MP3 players,
as well as cell phones.
“The portability of podcasts makes them especially appealing to young, on-the-go audiences,” said
Michael Lanz, analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. “We can expect to see podcasting become increasingly
popular as portable content media players proliferate,” he continued.
Table 1: Market Size Estimation of Audio and Video Podcasters (U.S., Home and Work)*
Segment
Estimate of Number
Percent Composition of
in Segment
Online Population
Music/Audio - Download File for Portable Media
(podcast) (computer - last 30 days) †
9,205,981
6.6
Video - Download File for Portable Media
(podcast) (computer - last 30 days) †
5,563,867
4.0
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings @Plan Summer 2006 Release
*Data is based on US Adult active Online population (18+).
† Profile point has been measured for less than four (4) survey waves.
Young Demographic
As is often typical with new technologies, young people are more likely than their older counterparts to
engage in audio or video podcasting. Web users between the ages 18 and 24 are nearly twice as likely as
the average Web user to download audio podcasts, followed by users in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups,
who were also more likely than the average Web user to do audio podcasting. Video podcasters trended
a little older, with 25-34 year olds indexing the highest. Web users above the age of 45 were less likely
than average to engage in podcasting of either sort.
Table 2: Composition Index according to Age Group among Audio and Video Podcasters (U.S.,
Home and Work)*
Demographic Group Audio Podcast Composition Index
Video Podcast Composition Index
18-24 172
147
25-34 155
164
35-44 117
115
45-54 85
92
55-64 53
49
65+ 29
31
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings @Plan Summer 2006 Release
* Data is based on US Adult active Online population (18+).
Note: Average composition index is 100. Any index above 100 indicates the overrepresentation of a demographic group.
The “Pod” in Podcasting
Since the popularity of Apple’s iPod is largely responsible for the spread of podcasting, not surprisingly
podcasters enjoy using Apple products and visiting Apple Web sites. For example, audio and video
podcasters are over three times as likely as the average Web user to use Apple’s Safari as their primary
Internet browser (see Table 3).
Table 3: Primary Internet Browsers among Audio and Video Podcasters (U.S., Home and Work)*
Primary Internet Browser Audio Podcast Composition Index
Video Podcast Composition Index
Safari 320
336
Firefox 233
176
Internet Explorer
88
84
AOL 63
91
Netscape 57
68
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings @Plan Summer 2006 Release
* Data is based on US Adult active Online population (18+).
Note: Average composition index is 100. Any index above 100 indicates the overrepresentation of a demographic group
Among audio podcasters, Macworld is the No. 1 most-visited content site, with a composition index of 606
(see Table 4). Apple and iTunes are the No. 2 and 3 e-commerce sites visited by audio podcasters, with
composition indexes of 455 and 396, respectively. The Apple connection is not as clear for video
podcasters, who flock to Startrek.com among content sites, with an index of 864. Live365.com and
eMusic are the two most popular e-commerce sites for video podcasters, with indexes of 730 and 656,
respectively.
“Competitors to the iPod are now in the marketplace, but Apple got a big head start,” said Lanz. “It will
take time before other portable media players make significant in-roads with the early-adopters who are
currently podcasting,” he continued.
Table 4: Top Content and E-Commerce Sites Visited by Podcasters (U.S., Home and Work)*
Audio Podcasters
Video Podcasters
Content Sites
Composition Index
Content Sites
Composition Index
Macworld 606
StarTrek.com
864
Lycos Wired News
553
Live365.com
730
Slashdot 544
Fark.com 724
E-Commerce Sites Composition Index
E-Commerce Sites
Composition Index
Niketown.com 474
Live365.com 730
Apple 455
eMusic
656
iTunes 396
Niketown.com
614
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings @Plan Summer 2006 Release
* Data is based on US Adult active Online population (18+).
Note: Average composition index is 100. Any index above 100 indicates the overrepresentation of a demographic group
*********************************************************
Nielsen//NetRatings reports June 2006 data for the Top Sites by Parent Company and Top Brands. In
addition, Nielsen//NetRatings reveals the Top Advertisers by Company for June 2006.
Nielsen//NetRatings Top 10 Web Sites by Parent Company and Top 10 Web Sites By Brand, June
2006
Table 1. Top 10 Parent Companies,
Table 2. Top 10 Brands,
Combined Home & Work
Combined Home & Work
Unique
Time Per
Unique
Time Per
Audience
Person
Audience
Person
Parent
(000) (hh:mm:ss) Brand
(000)
(hh:mm:ss)
1. Microsoft
114,842
1:59:38 1.
Yahoo!
105,217
3:19:45
2. Yahoo!
105,811
3:19:24 2. MSN/Windows Live
96,073
1:42:54
3. Time
Warner
103,962
4:38:11 3.
Microsoft
95,095
0:40:27
4. Google
96,785
0:54:31 4. Google
94,774
0:52:55
5. eBay
64,802
1:30:18 5.
AOL
74,081
5:56:21
6. News Corp. Online
62,277
1:33:22 6. eBay 58,037
1:29:59
7. InterActiveCorp
57,020
0:27:33 7. MySpace
45,791
1:53:12
8. Amazon
45,626
0:21:21 8. MapQuest
45,095
0:11:06
9. Walt Disney Internet Group
41,634
0:40:11 9. Real
Network 38,430
0:48:17
10. RealNetworks, Inc.
38,458
0:48:16 10.
Amazon 38,319
0:19:26
Example: The data indicates that 38.5 million home and work Internet users visited at least one of the
RealNetworks, Inc.-owned sites or launched a RealNetworks, Inc.-owned application during the month,
and each person spent, on average, a total of 48 minutes and 16 seconds at one or more of their sites or
applications.
A parent company is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs owned by a single entity. A
brand is defined as a consolidation of multiple domains and URLs that has a consistent collection of
branded content.
Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance Top 10 Advertisers, June 2006
Top advertisers, ranked by estimated spending, are based on data from AdRelevance,
Nielsen//NetRatings' advertising research service. An impression is counted as the number of times an ad
is rendered for viewing.
Top 10 Advertisers by Estimated Spending
Total Estimated
Impressions
Advertiser
Spending
(000)
1. GUS
Plc
$47,037,400 22,784,920
2. Vonage Holdings Corp $37,462,700
16,680,886
3. Verizon Communications, Inc.
$18,723,100
5,678,718
4. NexTag,
Inc.
$18,034,400 9,741,922
5. United Online, Inc. $17,840,000
5,420,177
6. Netflix,
Inc.
$16,329,400
5,256,759
7. Skype Technologies S.A. $16,123,900
2,650,339
8. Time Warner Inc. $13,277,500
3,889,288
9. YourGiftCards.com $11,527,300
3,835,010
10. E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp.
$10,645,300
2,897,455
Estimated spending reflects CPM-based advertising online, and excludes search-based advertising, paid
fee services, performance-based campaigns, sponsorships, barters, partnership advertising, advertorials,
promotions and email. Impressions reported exclude house ads, which are ads that run on an advertiser’s
own or related property and co-branding relationships.
Example: An estimated 2.9 billion E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corp. ads were rendered for viewing at the cost
of approximately $10.6 million during the surfing period.
About Nielsen//NetRatings
NetRatings, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTRT) delivers leading Internet media and market research solutions,
marketed globally under the Nielsen//NetRatings brand. With high quality, technology-driven products and
services, Nielsen//NetRatings is the global standard for Internet audience measurement and premier
source for online advertising intelligence, enabling clients to make informed business decisions regarding
their Internet and digital strategies. The Nielsen//NetRatings portfolio includes panel-based and site-
centric Internet audience measurement services, online advertising intelligence, user lifestyle and
demographic data, e-commerce and transaction metrics, and custom data, research and analysis. For
more information, please visit www.nielsen-netratings.com.
Editor’s Note: Please source all data to Nielsen//NetRatings.
