MEDIA INQUIRIES: Carrie
Krysanick, Dan Pinger Public Relations, 513/564-0700 OTHER INQUIRIES: Cary
Nadel, Burke, Inc. 203/431-5901 Tim Washer,
NFO Interactive 203/618-8606 Food Network, ESPN Beat Broadcast
Networks When Connecting Viewers With Web
Sites Cincinnati,
Ohio, and Greenwich, Connecticut (November 13, 2000) – The Food
Network and ESPN have emerged as leading television networks when it comes to
connecting viewers to program Web sites. The major broadcast networks (CBS,
ABC, NBC, and Fox) have not done as well in terms of getting Internet-enabled
viewers to access their program sites, although they still do better than most
cable networks. These are some of the findings from a
new study jointly conducted by Burke, Inc. and NFO Interactive. Findings from
the study, “Connecting With Viewers: TV Programs and Their Web Sites,” suggest
that network Web sites can play a key role in creating loyal program viewers. To discover more about the evolving
relationship between television and the Internet, 8,605 adult NFO Interactive
panelists were surveyed via the Internet from October 9 A total of 2,682 individuals, or 31
percent of those surveyed, indicated that they had watched at least one of 14
listed Food Network programs in the three months prior to the survey. Of these,
876, or 33 percent, had also been to the Web site devoted to at least one of
the programs viewed. “Emeril Live” by itself attracted 714 of these viewers to
the Web, although several less heavily watched Food Network programs (“Food
Finds,” “Good Eats,” “Inside Scoop,” “Calling All Cooks,” and “FoodNation”)
also managed to inspire at least one-quarter of their viewers to journey to the
program Web sites. Five ESPN programs, including NFL football
and Major League Baseball coverage, were included on the survey. A total of
3,970 individuals, or 46 percent of those surveyed, indicated that they had
watched one of the listed programs. Of these, 1,179, or 30 percent, indicated
that they had been to ESPN’s sports-oriented Web site. “These
networks have clearly done an excellent job of turning their identities into
brands and moving those brands on to the World Wide Web,” said Cary Nadel, a
Burke vice president who directs the company’s information, communications, and
entertainment practice area from his Ridgefield, Connecticut, office.
“Television networks that offer wider varieties of programming have a tougher
challenge turning their Web sites into resources that viewers will use on a
regular basis.” The
major broadcast networks were definitely the most viewed by survey respondents.
More than 90 percent had seen at least one listed program on NBC, ABC, and CBS,
and 84 percent had seen at least one of the Fox programs listed. Of these four
networks, CBS did slightly better than the others in getting Web-enabled
viewers to its program Web sites. Twenty-eight percent of surveyed CBS viewers
indicated that they had been to the Web site of at least one CBS program they
had seen, compared to 27 percent for ABC, 26 percent for NBC, and 21 percent
for Fox. (See Exhibit A.) CBS’s
leading Web franchises in the period covered by the survey included “Survivor”
and “Big Brother.” ABC’s numbers were especially sparked by “Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire.” NBC’s most-viewed Web site was for its Olympics coverage. For
Fox, the leading producer of Web-site visitors was its NFL football coverage. Exhibit A (Among 27 Networks Included on the Survey) Network Viewers
Surveyed Web-Site Visitors Pct. Food Network 2682 876 33% ESPN 3970 1179 30% CBS 7920 2218 28% ABC 7979 2118 27% NBC 8127 2094 26% Fox 7208 1503 21% MTV 2759 551 20% HBO 2913 517 18% Nickelodeon 2297 400 17% Discovery 4595 793 17% Even more
cable networks beat the major broadcast networks in terms of using their Web
sites to promote program viewing. In this area, the Discovery Channel was the
leader among networks included in the survey. A total of 417 surveyed
individuals – 9 percent of all Discovery Channel viewers surveyed – indicated
that they had decided to watch a program on the Discovery Channel as a result
of visiting its Web site. (See Exhibit B.) By contrast, only about 4
percent of Internet-enabled viewers of each of the major broadcast networks
(ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox) indicated that they had watched one of that network’s
shows because as a result of a Web-site visit. Exhibit B (Among 27 Networks Included on the Survey) Network Viewers Surveyed Watched Program Due to Web Site Pct. Discovery 4595 417 9% Food Network 2682 220 8% Disney Channel 862 53 6% PBS 4700 283 6% The Learning
Channel 3713 218 6% HBO 2913 166 6% Showtime 1468 81 6% CNBC 980 48 5% ESPN 3970 188 5% MTV 2759 125 5% “It is clear
that network Web sites can be effective ways to promote program viewership ,” said Tim Washer, vice president of media and telecom practice for
NFO Interactive. “Networks vary considerably, however, in how effectively they
are using the medium of the Internet to drive site visitors to their programs.” For more
information about how to obtain the full data set for the “Connecting With
Viewers” study, please contact Cary Nadel (203/431-5901) or Tim Washer
(203/618-8606). Based in Cincinnati, Burke, Inc. (www.burke.com) is an international business
research and consulting firm that assists clients worldwide in the collection,
analysis, and integration of marketing, organizational, and other related
information. Based in Greenwich, Connecticut, NFO Interactive (www.nfoi.com) is a global leader of Internet
and full-service market research to the business community. #
# #
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Study
XX
to October 25.
PanelistsXX were first asked which of 315
programs on 27 broadcast and cable TV programs they had personally watched in
the three months prior to being surveyed. Viewers of programs were then asked
if they had ever gone to the network Web site for that program and, if so,
whether they had gone to the Web site for program information during or after
their viewing. Viewers of each network were also asked if they had ever decided
to watch a program as a result of visiting that network’s Web site.
The Results
-more-
Networks With
The Highest Percentage of Web-Site Visitors
Among
Internet-Enabled
Viewers of Their Programs Viewers
Networks With
The Highest Percentage of Internet-Enabled Viewers
Saying They Had Watched a Program as a Result of
Visiting the Network Web Site
Viewers -more-Page 3
— Connecting With Viewers