Web Ratings

It will be interesting to see how this new reporting system works for high-traffic web sites. Change is fast becoming the only constant in an increasingly dynamic Internet. Content and advertising managers can benefit greatly from a system that offers real-time data. They can serve content and manage campaigns based on emerging traffic patterns.

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.

MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show overtook Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor to claim first place on the Experian Hitwise list of cable-news-show websites for the week ending March 12, dropping O’Reilly to second. The No. 3 slot went to MSNBC’s Meet the Press.

CBS was once again the top broadcast-network website, but Fox and ABC swapped positions, with Fox climbing to second and Fox dropping to third. Fox’s American Idol held on to first place on the list of broadcast-show websites, with CBS’ NCIS moving up to No. 2, and third place going to CBS’ Survivor. Fast risers were NBC’s The Event (to No. 10 from No. 53), and ABC’s Secret Millionaire (22 from 39).

The top three cable-show websites were unchanged from the week ending March 5: MTV’s Jersey Shore, and Comedy Central’s South Park and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Fast risers were Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County (10 from 22), Meet the Press (21 from 34), and Lifetime Television’s Coming Home (25 from 57).

When combining broadcast and cable shows, the top two were unchanged from the previous week — American Idol and Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants — while Jersey Shore surged into third place. The only fast riser was VH1′s Basketball Wives (20 from 36).

Experian Hitwise said data were not available for late-night and morning talk shows.

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ABC News senior vice president of digital Paul Slavin sent the following email to his staff commending them on their efforts in covering Friday’s earthquake in Japan and Pacific tsunami, noting that the site streamed more video Friday than on any other day in its history:

Although the tragedy in Japan is still unfolding, we are proud to report that Friday, March 11, was the largest single-day consumption of video in the history of ABCNews.com.

Divisionwide coverage contributed to nearly 4 million video starts on the site, exceeding notable events including the 2009 inauguration, the 2008 election, and Michael Jackson’s memorial, among others.

Also of note, ABC News Digital ranked No. 8 in Nielsen in February, marking the 22nd consecutive month we have been in the top 10 news websites in the country. Our average rank over that period has been No. 8, and prior to that, we were consistently 14th.

With continued excellence in breaking news coverage, consistent technical improvements, and redoubling our commitment to essentials such as SEO, we are confident that the future will bring even more success.

Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor and MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show retained the top two spots on the list of cable-news-show websites from Experian Hitwise for the week ending March 5, but MSNBC’s Morning Joe replaced network sibling Hardball with Chris Matthews in third place.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart once again claimed the late-night talk-show crown, while NBC’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon surged into second place, and Comedy’s The Colbert Report was No. 3.

The morning talk shows were unchanged yet again: NBC’s Today at No. 1, ABC’s Good Morning America in second, and CBS’ The Early Show at No. 3.

The top three broadcast-network websites were also unchanged from the previous week: CBS, ABC, and Fox. There was no glee for Fox’s Glee, as it dropped out of the top three broadcast-show sites. Fox’s American Idol was tops again, followed by ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and CBS’ NCIS. Fast risers were Dancing with the Stars (to No. 2 from No. 46), and NBC’s Harry’s Law (debuting at No. 24).

MTV’s Jersey Shore continued to show its guido power, remaining atop the list of cable-show sites, with Comedy’s South Park finishing second again and The Daily Show propelling itself into the third spot. Fast risers were Lifetime Television’s Army Wives (6 from 24), A&E Network’s Breakout Kings (7 from 158), Food Network’s Down Home with the Neelys (17 from 33), and Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County (22 from 59).

Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants was finally knocked out of the No. 1 spot when combining broadcast and cable show sites, coming in at No. 2 behind new No. 1 American Idol. Dancing with the Stars also made its move up the charts, coming in third. Fast risers were Dancing with the Stars (3 from 119), Army Wives (21 from 75), and Breakout Kings (22 from 279).
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Bill O’Reilly was a factor during the week ending Feb. 26, as Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor topped the list of cable-news-show Web sites from Experian Hitwise, followed by two offerings from MSNBC: The Rachel Maddow Show, and Hardball with Chris Matthews.

Comedy Central occupied the top two positions in the rankings of late-night talk-show sites, with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report. Third place went to NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

The morning talk shows assumed their usual positions: NBC’s Today at No. 1, ABC’s Good Morning America in second, and CBS’ The Early Show at No. 3.

CBS was the top-ranked broadcast-network site, followed by ABC, and Fox. Fox’s American Idol voted its way to the top of the broadcast-show-site list, trailed by Fox’s Glee, and CBS’ Survivor. There were no fast risers.

The Situation and crew were situated atop the cable-show-site list, and MTV’s Jersey Shore was followed by Comedy’s South Park, and ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. Fast risers were Syfy’s Ghost Hunters (to No. 8 from No. 50), Lifetime Television’s Amanda Knox: Murder on Trail in Italy (17 from 142), Bravo’s Top Chef (20 from 34), and Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush Alaska (23 from 47).

When combining broadcast and cable show sites, Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants may be at the bottom of the sea, but it was at the top of the chart, followed by Jersey Shore, and South Park. The only fast riser was Fox’s America’s Most Wanted (24 from 34).
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February may be the shortest month of the year, but that didn’t stop Mother Jones from posting record gains in traffic and digital ad revenue compared with the year-earlier month, as the nonprofit investigative, political, and social-justice site drew more than 3 million unique visitors, up 420 percent compared with February 2010, and more than 6.6 million page views, up 275 percent.

Digital ad revenue for January and February rose 200 percent versus the year-earlier period.

Mother Jones credited social media for much of the growth, saying 29 percent of its traffic came from those sites, nearly three times the prior-year period’s figure. The site’s Twitter followers were up 28 percent in February, to more than 43,000; its Facebook fan base grew 20 percent, to nearly 40,000; and the new MoJo Tumblr skyrocketed 200 percent, to nearly 3,000 followers.

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The revolutions in Egypt and Libya helped push CNN.com to a 10 percent traffic gain in February compared with the year-earlier month.

During the first three days of the month, Egypt helped drive the cable news network’s site to a daily average 17 percent higher than that of the prior four weeks. It was Libya’s turn Monday, Feb. 21, when traffic was 55 percent higher than the prior-four-Sunday average and 6 percent higher than the last Monday holiday (Jan. 17).

Total video starts (live and video-on-demand) were up 30 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2010, and live video starts were up 20 percent.

Feature content also performed well for CNN.com in February, with Tech averaging 1 million daily page views, up 18 percent; versus February 2010 Opinion at 500,000, up 51 percent; Health at 860,000, up 46 percent; and Living at 800,000, up 66 percent. And CNN.com said blog traffic accounted for 97 million page views in February.

HGTV was very happy with the number of visitors who walked through its FrontDoor during the week ending Feb. 12, as the cable network’s real estate information site was the top-ranked real estate Web site in its category for the week, according to data from Experian Hitwise.

FrontDoor drew 4.4 million unique visitors in January, dwarfing its January 2010 total of 526,000.

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Fox News Channel’s The O’Reilly Factor remained atop the Experian Hitwise rankings of cable-news-show Web sites for the week ending Feb. 12 yet again, followed by two offerings from MSNBC: Zeitgeist and The Rachel Maddow Show, respectively.

The ironic battle between Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno continued in the late-night talk-show category, as TBS’ Conan and NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno don’t seem to be able to share a top-three list. Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart remained atop the list, but Leno bumped rival Conan out of the top three, securing second place and dropping Comedy’s The Colbert Report from No. 2 to No. 3.

The top three morning-talk-show sites held steady for the fourth consecutive week: NBC’s Today, ABC’s Good Morning America, and CBS’ The Early Show.

The broadcast-network-site rankings remained unchanged: CBS, ABC, and NBC. Fox’s Glee surged to first place in the broadcast-show-site rankings, followed by previous leader and Fox sibling American Idol, and CBS’ NCIS. Fast risers on the broadcast list were CBS’ Survivor (to No. 13 from No. 23), and ABC’s Mr. Sunshine (18 from 58).

The top three cable shows were identical for the third week in a row: MTV’s Jersey Shore, Comedy’s South Park, and ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. Fast risers were Zeitgeist (14 from 150), History’s American Pickers (19 from 32), Travel’s Ghost Adventures (21 from 37), and Lifetime Television’s Army Wives (25 from 55).

The combined broadcast and cable top three held steady for week No. 3: Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants, Jersey Shore, and South Park. Fast risers were Glee (4 from 20), and Oxygen’s Bad Girls Club (22 from 33).

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CNN.com said traffic spiked to 5.3 million global page views during the hour when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced his resignation, up 50 percent compared with the average for the same hour during the past four Fridays.

The total marked the best 11 a.m. hour on a weekday the site has experienced all year, and CNN.com added that global live video views increased by six times versus the prior-four-Friday average, as well.