Less than half of major US markets have local sites with significant reach, but 3 are breaking out.  Meanwhile, reduced investment in newspaper organizations may be starting to show.

By:  Arul Sundaram

In the three months since our last look at local media Web sites and their in-market reach, there has been limited change in the majority of markets surveyed in the index. That said, we have been watching some of the leading sites and emerging trends as potential bellwethers for the industry. In this edition of the IB Local Index, we have evaluated site performance for the most recently available comScore Local Market data (July 2009) versus site performance one year ago.

The July 2009 IB Local Index findings:

• The changes in the newspaper industry may be having an effect. At this point, specific results seem unclear from the shutdown of the Rocky Mountain News, the print edition of the Seattle PI, and the limiting of production of the Detroit Free Press / Detroit News. It is interesting to note that the DenverPost has managed to become the local reach leader in July (perhaps by picking up readers who used to turn to the RMN) while KING5 in Seattle regained its top spot in Seattle (perhaps because the Seattle Times is still splitting its readership with the web edition of the PI). ClickOnDetroit maintained its lead in the Motor City, but similar to Seattle, two newspapers continue to push out daily content onto their Web properties in that locale.

• Only 3 sites have achieved in-market reach of at least 25%. Interestingly, these are all TV stations: KSL, WGAL and WRAL.

• A limited number of sites are showing signs of breaking out. Over the past year, 5 markets with media properties reaching at least 15% of the population have seen that leader grow reach by more than 30%. Growth was led by 3 TV stations: WGAL, WAVY and KSL, with two newspapers, Jacksonville.com and Cleveland.com, rounding out the group. Norfolk and Jacksonville each had turbulent weather conditions in July 2009, so it will be interesting to see if the media leaders in each town can hold onto the traffic moving forward. Meanwhile, KSL and WGAL are the only two sites with more than 25% reach to have also grown reach faster than 30% YOY.

In TV vs. Newspaper:

• Over the past year, 9 markets changed leaders, with 2 markets moving to newspaper from TV, 6 markets moving to TV from newspaper, and 1 market changing hands between TV stations. No media property that had at least 20% reach lost its lead, and only two with at least 15% reach lost their leads (PostGazette was overtaken by WPXI.com and 9News.com was overtaken by DenverPost.com)

• Overall local reach took a dip for both TV and Newspapers in July. TV station Web sites in the top 50 local markets reached 6.3% of the total local online population in July 2009, down from 7.2% in April 2009 and 6.5% in July 2008. Newspapers also had a decline with 13.8% total local reach in July 2009, down from 14.2% in April 2009 and 14.5% in July 2008.

The Top Local Media Site for Local Visits in Each Market

About the IB Local TV Site Index: The IB Local TV Site Index is a monthly report analyzing comScore Media Metrix data on local TV station site performance in the top 50 local media markets. Produced by Internet Broadcasting, the Index aims to identify themes and trends in TV site performance by examining standard comScore metrics, and well as derivative metrics developed by Internet Broadcasting.

Methodology: The IB Local TV Sites Index focuses on the top ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliated site in each of the top 50 local markets (two exceptions are the inclusion of independent sites KRON4.com in San Francisco and News4Jax.com in Jacksonville). Also tracked is the performance of the top local newspaper site in each market.  Data is examined in aggregate, as well as by three key market tiers: Local markets 1-10, 11-25 and 26-50.  The data are from the comScore Media Metrix Local Market Key Measures Report.

Related:  June 2009 IB Local Index: TV Sites Are #1 In Local Visits In 19 of 50 Markets, May 2009 IB Local Index: TV Station Web Sites Are #1 For Local Engagement In 28 of 50 Markets, April 2009 IB Local Index: TV Station Web Sites Can Reach Three Times the Local Visitors o Newspaper Sites

KSL.com and WRAL.com are Top Performers in the June 2009 IB Local Index

By: Tom Masterman & Arul Sundaram

Local TV station Web sites lead all other local media sites in total local visits in 19 of the top 50 markets, according to new research analysis from Internet Broadcasting.  Previous studies of the IB Local Index have focused on reach and engagement.  April’s report highlighted the top TV sites in local reach compared to newspaper sites.  May’s report illustrated the strength of TV sites in local visit time.  This month’s report focuses on frequency, showcasing the top local media sites in local visit sessions.

The June 2009 IB Local Index findings:

• Newspaper sites dominate in the top markets. In each of the top 10 markets, a newspaper site garnered the most local visits.  Newspaper sites were #1 in 31 of the top 50 markets, overall.
• Largest visit totals were not in the largest markets. Only one of the top five sites in local visits, Boston.com, was located in a top 10 market. Top performers KSL.com and WRAL.com were from markets 33 (Salt Lake City) and 27 (Raleigh-Durham), respectively.
• Wide range in the margin between winners and runner ups. Top sites had, on average, more than twice as many local visits than the nearest competitor.  This margin between #1 and #2 sites ranged from as little as a 2% difference, to as much as a 20x gap.

About the IB Local TV Site Index: The IB Local TV Site Index is a monthly report analyzing comScore Media Metrix data on local TV station site performance in the top 50 local media markets.  Produced by Internet Broadcasting, the Index aims to identify themes and trends in TV site performance by examining standard comScore metrics, and well as derivative metrics developed by Internet Broadcasting.

Methodology: The IB Local TV Sites Index focuses on the top ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliated site in each of the top 50 local markets (two exceptions are the inclusion of independent sites KRON4.com in San Francisco and News4Jax.com in Jacksonville).  Also tracked is the performance of the top local newspaper site in each market.  Data is examined in aggregate, as well as by three key market tiers: Local markets 1-10, 11-25 and 26-50.  The data are from the comScore Media Metrix Local Market Key Measures Report.

Related:  TV Station Web Sites Are #1 For Local Engagement In 28 of 50 Markets, April 2009 IB Local Index: TV Station Web Sites Can Reach Three Times the Local Visitors o Newspaper Sites

May 2009 IB Local Index Highlights Top Performers in Time Spent by Site Visitors

By: Tom Masterman & Arul Sundaram

Internet Broadcasting research shows that local TV station Web sites beat all other local media sites in total local minutes in 28 of the top 50 markets. In the previous edition of the IB Local Index we found that TV sites reach up to three times the local unique visitors of the top newspaper site, in some markets, beating the top newspaper site in 11 markets. May’s report shows that TV sites can outperform newspaper sites in engagement metrics such as total minutes spent on site and time spent per visitor.

The May 2009 IB Local Index findings:

• More winners in the smaller markets. As one would expect, TV sites dominate in local time spent more often in smaller markets, where media competition is generally less intense, and where stations continue to enjoy mega ratings. TV sites won in total local minutes (the total time spent on site by visitors located within the local market) in only four of the top 10 markets.
• Time spent per visitor the key driver. Local TV sites dominated in time spent per visitor. This stickier environment was true across sites that had both large and small reach. One major contributor is likely the abundance of relevant, local video on TV sites.
• Smaller markets can generate major minutes. Surprisingly, the majority of the sites generating the most total local minutes were outside the top 10 largest markets. This is clearly a combination of the first two factors.

The 28 Markets Where the TV Site Wins in Total Minutes by Local Market Visitors

About the IB Local TV Site Index: The IB Local TV Site Index is a monthly report analyzing comScore Media Metrix data on local TV station site performance in the top 50 local media markets. Produced by Internet Broadcasting, the Index aims to identify themes and trends in TV site performance by examining standard comScore metrics, and well as derivative metrics developed by Internet Broadcasting.

Methodology: The IB Local TV Sites Index focuses on the top ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliated site in each of the top 50 local markets.  Also tracked is the performance of the top local newspaper site in each market. Data is examined in aggregate, as well as by three key market tiers: Local markets 1-10, 11-25 and 26-50. The majority of the data are metrics from comScore Media Metrix.

Related: April 2009 IB Local Index: TV Station Web Sites Can Reach Three Times the Local Visitors o Newspaper Sites

April 2009 IB Local Index Reveals Bright Spots Amidst The Competitive Local Online Market

Posted by: Tom Masterman & Arul Sundaram

Internet Broadcasting is proud to debut “The IB Local Index”, a monthly analysis of comScore data for TV station Web sites and their competitors in the top 50 local markets. In this inaugural edition, we are pleased to report that average television station Web site usage grew in April and that station Web sites are continuing to gain share. The disparity between top station Web sites and poor performers, however, is vast, with only a few sites having shown the ability to reach the type of scale that would make them a “must buy” for local advertisers. In future editions, we will examine the trends and best practices that are leading stations to success.

The April 2009 IB Local Index findings:

• Top performers dominate their markets. KSL.com was the top performer, reaching 42% of the Salt Lake City market, and amassing an audience 3.4 times that of the major newspaper site, SLTrib.com. Rounding out the top five performers: WRAL.com, with 27% reach in Raleigh, NC, and the only other site with more than 3 times the audience of the top newspaper site; WAVY.com, with 20% reach in Norfolk, VA; WPXI.com, with 19% reach in Pittsburgh; WSMV.com, with 19% reach in Nashville
• Smaller markets are bright spots. Average local market reach for TV sites in markets 26-50 was twice that of markets 1-10, where media competition is traditionally fiercer and consumers are more finicky. And, while no TV site in the top 10 markets beat the top newspaper site, four sites in markets 11-25 and ten sites in markets 26-50 bested the local newspaper site in local reach.
• Overall local reach growing, but still lagging newspapers. TV station Web sites in the top 50 local markets reached 7.2% of the total local online population in April 2009, up from 7.0% in March and 6.3% in April 2008, but still only half of the average reach of top local newspaper sites (see chart below).

Below are comScore data illustrating reach and engagement performance for three local market tiers for best performers and average performer.

Best Performers

Mean Station Web Site Performance

Main source: comScore Media Metrix Local Market Key Measures Report, April 2009

About the IB Local TV Site Index: The IB Local TV Site Index is a monthly report analyzing comScore Media Metrix data on local TV station site performance in the top 50 local media markets. Produced by Internet Broadcasting, the Index aims to identify themes and trends in TV site performance by examining standard comScore metrics, and well as derivative metrics developed by Internet Broadcasting.

Methodology: The IB Local TV Sites Index focuses on the top ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliated site in each of the top 50 local markets. Also tracked is the performance of the top local newspaper site in each market. Data is examined in aggregate, as well as by three key market tiers: Local markets 1-10, 11-25 and 26-50. The majority of the data are metrics from comScore Media Metrix. Metrics from Nielsen Media Research are also used.

Definitions:

• UVs / 100 TV HHs: Unique visitors per 100 TV households – Derived by dividing the total comScore site unique visitors by the television households as reported by Nielsen Media Research, multiplied by 100 to make the metric easier to interpret.
• Local Market Reach: The % reach comScore metric for a site within its local market.
• In / Out UV Split %: In- and out-of-market unique visitor split percentage – Derived by dividing a site’s comScore unique visitors within its local market by a site’s total unique visitors. In some instances, due to small sample sizes and different local and national sample panels, comScore may report more local unique visitors than total UVs. Sites with these metrics have been factored downward to 100%.
• Local Reach v. Paper: Designated marketing area reach of a TV site compared to the top newspaper site – Derived by dividing a site’s local comScore unique visitors by the local unique visitors of the market’s top newspaper site.
• Avg. Visit Time: The average time a visitor spends on the site per visit.
• PVs / Visit: The average pages viewed per site visit.
• PVs / 100 TV HHs: Page views per 100 TV households – Derived by dividing the total comScore site page views by the television households as reported by Nielsen Media Research, multiplied by 100 to make the metric easier to interpret.

Data For the 14 Local TV Sites that Beat the Top Newspaper Site in Local Reach

Main source: comScore Media Metrix Local Market Key Measures Report, April 2009 (more…)