INTERNET BROADCASTING BREAKS ALL-TIME USAGE AND TRAFFIC RECORDS IN FIRST QUARTER 2008

The combined IB network of sites registers its three highest unique visitor months in history, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

New York, NY and St. Paul, MN – April 23, 2008 – Internet Broadcasting, the leading local Internet solution provider for broadcast publishers and local advertisers, announced today that it set all-time traffic records in first quarter of 2008. The IB network drove record unique visitors and page views benefiting local television stations and local and national advertising customers.

UVs grew, with 17.7MM in January, 19.6MM in February, and 17.0MM in March. This compares to 13.8MM, 15.4MM, and 13.9MM in 2007. The record usage is attributed to IB’s election coverage, strong weather franchises providing on line functionality during winter storms as well as ongoing SEO and distribution increases.

Engagement also increased significantly in Q1’08, creating a record-setting 755.7MM total visitor minutes across the IB network of sites. The IB Politics section registered three consecutive page view records from round-the-clock election coverage, garnering 3.9MM, 4.4MM, and 6.5MM PVs according to WebTrends. Storms across the country drove a record 84.4MM Weather section page views in February alone.

The television broadcasters in the IB network benefited as part of this record usage. Specifically, 36 stations hit records in terms of unique visitors and/or page views throughout Q1’08. Most noteworthy, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, IB has 27 TV sites that ranked #1 within the top 50 DMAs.

IB’s strategic referral relationship with CNN.com continues to benefit CNN, IB partner stations, and the IB network. In the first quarter it resulted in a 41% lift versus 2007 according to WebTrends - generating tens of millions of incremental visits to IB sites. Further, the relationship resulted in record unique visitors and consecutive number-one news rankings for CNN Digital Network, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

IB CEO David Lebow commented, “We’re highly committed to our stations winning in their markets. We’re doubling down on providing market leading tools and services to our partners so they maximize their usage and their online advertising revenue. In the first quarter of 2008, the weather and elections projects with our stations paid off. We have a big year of innovation and enhancements planned to build on this for our partners.”

Jeff Kimball is commuting from Virginia for his new gig as chief operating officer of Internet Broadcasting Systems Inc. “Just until the end of my daughter’s school year,” he explained.

Before coming to the St. Paul-based Web news provider, Kimball worked for a number of Internet startups. “One of them happened to be AOL,” he said.

Most recently, Kimball was senior vice president of product development at Vive Computing. Before that, he held various leadership positions with AOL, including leading the product and technology strategy across AOL Europe.

Internet Broadcasting represents something of a departure for Kimball. The company is more than a decade old. It has more of the feel of a younger company, though, Kimball said.

The company also remains on a hiring spree.

I’m really excited about Internet Broadcasting,” Kimball said. “It has the elements of a startup, but it’s a company with 13 years of rich heritage, and it’s already a leader in its space.”

Internet Broadcasting proudly congratulates all of its broadcast partners, which collectively earned an assortment of recent industry awards for website excellence.

Topping the list with highly coveted Radio/Television News Director’s Association (RTNDA) Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards, were the NBC station in San Diego and the Cox site in Seattle. In addition, six other partner websites were recognized by The Associated Press as their respective state’s Best TV News Website.

Recent IB Broadcast Partner Website Award Winners:

Cox Television:

• KIRO (Seattle), Edward R. Murrow Region 1 Award - Large Market Website, RTNDA

Hearst-Argyle Television:

• WAPT (Jackson), Best TV News Website, Mississippi AP
• KOCO (Oklahoma City), Best Website, OK Association of Broadcasters
• WYFF (Greenville), Best TV News Website, South Carolina AP

Post-Newsweek Stations:

• KPRC (Houston), Best TV News Website, Texas AP

NBC:

• KNSD (San Diego), Edward R. Murrow Region 2 Award - Large Market Website, RTNDA
• WTVJ (Miami), Best TV News Website, Florida AP

Meredith:

• WFSB (Hartford), Best TV News Website, Connecticut AP

McGraw-Hill: 

• WRTV (Indianapolis), Best TV News Website, Indiana AP

Morgan:

• WISC (Madison), Best Website (Medium Market), Northwest Broadcast News Association

In an interview with B&C’s Michael Malone, David Lebow comments about IB’s commitment to growing traffic and revenue at partner stations’ sites with enhanced programming, whether it’s through video, verticalized content or interactive platforms – like its first web application set to launch this month.

Click here to view the entire interview.