Sports Site Traffic in India Reaches New Heights

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a report on traffic to Sports sites in India as the country prepares for the India Premier League’s (IPL) third season. The study found that more than 10 million Internet users at home and work locations in India visited a sports site in January 2010, nearly double the number from the previous year.

“The sports category has experienced tremendous growth throughout the last year as more Indians turn to the Internet as their first source of up-to-the-minute news on their favorite teams and players,” said Will Hodgman, comScore executive vice president for the Asia-Pacific region. “January saw a particularly strong increase in traffic fueled by the IPL3 player auction on the 19th of the month. With IPL3 set to begin in March, we expect to see continued growth at many sports sites as fans prepare for the tournament’s return to India.”

More than 10 Million Visit a Sports Site in January

In January 2010, 10.3 million Internet users age 15 and older visited a sports site in India from a home or work location, an increase of 97 percent from the previous year. Yahoo! Cricket led as the most visited sports destination with nearly 4 million visitors, up 305 percent versus last year. ESPN grabbed the #2 position with 3.5 million visitors (up 109 percent) followed by Sify Sports with more than 1 million visitors (up 379 percent). Cricket-specific sites also posted strong visitation figures including CricBuzz.com (640,000 visitors), CricketNirvana.com (523,000 visitors),KrishCricket.com (306,000 visitors) and Cricketnext (278,000 visitors).

Most Visited Sports Sites by Unique Visitors January 2010 vs. January 2009 Total India Age 15+ - Home/Work Location Source: comScore World Metrix
	Total Unique Visitors (000)
	Jan-09	Jan-10	% Change
Total Internet : Total Audience	32,523	37,269	15
Sports	5,244	10,322	97
Yahoo! Cricket	972	3,940	305
ESPN	1,669	3,491	109
Sify Sports	216	1,036	379
FANIQ.COM	637	771	21
CRICBUZZ.COM	651	640	-2
CRICKETNIRVANA.COM	173	523	202
ESPNSTAR.ASIA	N/A	315	N/A
KRISHCRICKET.COM	92	306	232
Cricketnext	N/A	278	N/A
MSN Sports International	153	271	76

*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Engagement Accelerates at Sports Sites
Not only did Sports sites achieve strong gains in visitation during the last year, but audience engagement also soared to record levels. Total time spent, page views, and visits to the Sports category all increased by 100 percent or more in the past year. The average Sports category visitor spent 30.1 minutes at sports sites, viewing 41 pages of content and visiting the category nearly 6 times throughout the month.

Sports Category Engagement January 2010 vs. January 2009 Total India Age 15+ - Home/Work Location Source: comScore World Metrix
	Jan-09	Jan-10	% Change
Total Minutes (MM)	155	311	100
Total Pages Viewed (MM)	203	420	107
Total Visits (000)	22,678	61,175	170
Average Minutes per Visitor	29.6	30.1	1.8
Average Pages per Visitor	39	41	5
Average Visits per Visitor	4.3	5.9	37.0

*Excludes visitation from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.