FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA INQUIRIESBURKE CONTACT:                               Carrie Krysanick, Dan Pinger Public Relations, 513/564-0700

                                                                ckrysan@danpinger.com

 

OTHER INQUIRIES:                              Cary Nadel, Burke, Inc. 203/431-59016 

                                                                cary.nadel@burke.com

 

NFO INTERACTIVE CONTACT:  Tim Washer, NFO Interactive 203/618-8606

                                                                twasher@nfoir.com

 

Olympics, ‘Millionaire’ Draw Most TV Web--Site Hits,

But ‘Big Brother’ Reaches Highest Percentage of Viewers

 

Cincinnati, Ohio, and Greenwich, Connecticut Toledo, Ohio (November 13, 2000) – NBC’s Olympics coverage and ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” have attracted more viewers to their Web sites than any other recent television programming. The Web site for CBS’s “Big Brother,” however, has attracted the highest percentage of its television viewers with Internet access. Among cable programming, the Food Network’s “Emeril Live” and ESPN’s “SportsCenter” and NFL football coverage have been among the leading shows in terms of both total viewer Web-siteWeb-site hits and the percentage of Internet-enabled viewers accessing the network’s associated Web site.

 

The Study

These are some of the findings, from a new study jointly conducted by Burke, Inc.Burke, Inc., a Cincinnati, Ohio-based marketing research firm, and NFO Interactive, suggest that traditional television dramas and situation comedies are going to have to creatively develop Internet content to keep sponsors because advertisers increasingly seek Web-- site tie-ins, the Internet-research division of NFO Research, a Toledo, Ohio-based marketing research firm. The study, “Connecting With Viewers: TV Programs and Their Web Sites,” surveyed 8,605 NFO Interactive panelists to discover more about the evolving relationship between television and the Internet.

 

Adults surveyed via the Internet from October 9XX to October 25XX were first asked which of  315 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 before, during, or after their program 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.

 

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Page 2 — Connecting With Viewers

The Results

A total of 1,711 individuals, or 20% percent of those surveyed, indicated that they had watched “Big Brother” in the three months prior to the survey. Of these, 811, or 47% percent, indicated that they had also been to CBS’s “Big Brother” Web site. This made the program the TV-Web site “linkage” ofor “attach rate” champion for the time period covered in the survey.   

 

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Other programs, including CBS’s “Survivor” as well as the Olympics and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” actually drew more people to their Web sites than “Big Brother.” (See Exhibit A.) Because the overall base of viewers of these programs was greater, however, “Big Brother” was by far the leader of the programs viewed by at least 15% of survey respondents in terms of attracting a high percentage of Internet-enabled viewers to its Web site. (See Exhibit B.)

 

Exhibit A

Program Web Sites With Most Overall Visitors

Program (Network) Network                             Number of Visitors     Percentage of Visitors Among All Individuals Surveyed

1. Olympics (NBC) NBC                                      1,256                                          15%

2. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (ABC)     1,255                                                                                    ABC                                          15%

3. “Survivor” (CBS) CBS                                        912                                            11%

4. “Big Brother” (CBS)                                   811                                             CBS                                             9%

5. NFL Football (ESPN)                                752                                             ESPN                                             9%

6. “Emeril Live” ( The Food Network)                714                                             8%

7. “SportsCenter” (ESPN)                              665                                             8%

8. NFL Football (CBS)                                   594                                             CBS                                             7%

9. NFL Football (FOX)                                   563                                             FOX                                             7%

10. Major League Baseball (ESPN) ESPN                534                                             6%

 

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Exhibit B

Web Sites With The Highest Percentage of Visitors

 Among Internet-Enabled Viewers of That TV Program Viewers

(Among 98 Programs Viewed By At Least 15% Percent of Surveyed Individuals)

Program (Network) Network                                 Viewers     Visitors      Percentage of Internet-Enabled Viewers of Visitors Among Internet-Enabled Viewers

 

1. “Big Brother” (CBS) CBS                              1,711          811                                47%

2. “Emeril Live” (The Food Network)           2,251          714                                32%

3. “Survivor” (CBS) CBS                                    3,069          912                                30%

4. “SportsCenter” (ESPN) ESPN                         2,273          665                                29%

5. Olympics (NBC) NBC                                   4,799         1,256                              26%

6. NFL Football (ESPN)                            3,021          752ESPN                                  25%

7. Discovery magazine (Dis  Discovery)            1,315          312                                24%

8. Major League Baseball ( ESPN)             2,342          534                                23%

9. “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” (ABC) ABC  5,704         1,255                              22%

10. “The Sopranos” (HBO) HBO                         1,356          274                                20%

 

 

 

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The program “Big Brother” was a contest that featured 10 individuals confined to a house for three months. CBS “Big Brother” episodesprograms and on-air promotions actively encouraged visitspromoted to the show’s Internet site, which featured live “Web-casts” of happenings within the house.

 

“We can expect to see more and more situations like this where the program franchise is really extended through the use of a Web site,” said Cary Nadel, a Burke vice president who directs the company’s iInformation, cCommunications, and eEntertainment (I.C.E.) Research practice area from his Ridgefield, Connecticut, office. Noting that 16% percent of survey respondents had high-speed Internet access, Nadel added, “As broadband connections from the home to the Internet become more and more popular, we will see more of what has been thought of as ‘TVtelevision content’ migrating back and forth between the to the Web and television.”

 

 

In addition to “reality” and game shows, like “Big Brother,” “Survivor,” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” programs generating a high percentage of Web-siteWeb-site viewers tended to be sportings eventsshows and “do-it-yourself” cooking programs featuring cooking, including “Emeril Live” and “Discovery Daytime,” which put recipes on their Web sites. Dramas and situation comedies, in general, did not have high percentages of viewers going to their Web sites. The drama Web site drawing the highest percentage of Internet-enabled viewers was the site for HBO’s “The Sopranos,” which is heavily promoted before and after each episode and during other HBO program breaks. “The Sopranos” site features trivia games and giveaways, fan chats and discussion boards, an interactive video-based family tree, and a Web-only story line from the viewpoint of fictional FBI agents.

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“Traditional television programs need to be creative in order to draw viewers to their Web sites,” said Tim Washer, vice president of media and telecom practice for NFO Interactive. “As advertisers increasingly look for Web-siteWeb-site tie-ins to accompany traditional television commercials, programs that fail to develop active fan communities on the Web might find themselves lacking such sponsorships.” 

 

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).

The full data set from the “Connecting With Viewers” study is available for purchase from Burke, Inc., or NFO Interactive. Contact Cary Nadel or Time Washer for more details.

 

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.

 

 

Burke Information Communications and Entertainment Research is a division of Burke, Inc. Founded in 1931, Burke, Inc. is one of the premier international business research and consulting firms in the world.  The Cincinnati-based firm has offices and affiliates in 40 countries, offering business solutions through five strategic divisions: Burke Marketing Research, Burke Customer Satisfaction Associates, Burke Strategic Consulting Group, Burke Information Communications and Entertainment Research, and The Training & Development Center.

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