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U.S. Market for Paid Online Content Grows Despite Economy Market for Paid Online Content in the U.S. Grows to $361 million in Q3 2002, According to Online Publishers Association Report

    Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2002--

Personals/Dating Overtakes Business/Investment and Entertainment/Lifestyles to Become Leading Paid Content Category

The Online Publishers Association announced today the results of its Q2/Q3 U.S. Market Spending Report for paid online content.

The study, conducted by comScore Networks, determined that the total market for paid online content in the U.S. grew to $361.4 million for the third quarter, a 14 percent gain over the previous quarter and a 105.3 percent gain over Q3 2001. Through the first three quarters of 2002, U.S. consumer spending for paid online content totaled $975 million, versus only $670 million for the full-year 2001.

The report also found that the number of U.S. consumers paying for online content in Q3 2002 nearly doubled to 14.8 million from 7.9 million in Q3 2001, with more than 1 in 10 online users now paying for some form of content online.

The Personals/Dating category surpassed Business/Investing and Entertainment/Lifestyles content to become the leading paid content category in Q3 2002 with $87 million in revenues, a 387% gain over the same quarter last year. The OPA/comScore study found that spending in nearly all content categories grew more than 100 percent in the third quarter of 2002 versus the same quarter last year. The top three categories - Personals/Dating, Business/Investment and Entertainment/Lifestyles - account for 62% of all paid content revenue year-to-date in 2002.

"Remarkably, during a period of general economic stagnation, the market for online paid content in the U.S. maintained its stunning year-over-year growth rate," said Michael Zimbalist, executive director of the Online Publishers Association. "As consumer acceptance continues to rise, premium content will play an increasingly important role in the revenue mix for online publishers."

In Q3 2002, nearly every pricing model experienced triple-digit growth over Q3 2001. Single-purchase transactions rose to more than $56 million, a gain of 132 percent over Q3 2001. General News showed phenomenal growth in single purchases, going from $604,000 in all of 2001 to almost $9 million in just the first three quarters of 2002. The single-purchase growth in that category came primarily in the $5 -$49.99 price range.

Micropayment transactions (individual purchases under five dollars) also experienced dramatic growth, up from $279,000 in Q3 2001 to $3.1 million in Q3 2002, a more than tenfold year-over-year growth rate, although such transactions still account for only a small fraction of all paid content spending.

The information contained in the report is based not on self-reported consumer surveys, but on actual observed purchases of content. Using its representative panel of more than 1 million U.S. online consumers, comScore Networks calculated the results by passively and electronically monitoring the actual purchase and usage transactions that took place during the analysis period.

The full presentation of results, as well as the report, itself, is available at the Online Publishers Association Web site at www.online-publishers.org. The next report, covering the full-year 2002, is scheduled to be released in early 2003.

About the Online Publishers Association

Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. OPA member sites have a combined, unduplicated reach of 68.1 million visitors, or 47.5% of the total U.S. Internet audience. (Source: comScore Media Metrix, November 2002 combined home/work/university data). For more information about the Online Publishers Association, visit www.online-publishers.org.

About comScore Networks

comScore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior. This capability is based on a representative cross-section of more than 1.5 million global Internet users who have given comScore explicit permission to confidentially capture their Web-wide browsing, buying and other transaction behavior, including offline purchasing. Through its patent-pending technology, comScore measures what matters across the entire spectrum of surfing and buying behavior. This deep knowledge of customers and competitors helps clients design more powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. comScore services are used by global leaders such as Microsoft, Kraft, The New York Times Company, Best Buy, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Nestle, Wells Fargo & Company, GlaxoSmithKline, and Orbitz. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

This press release may be found at http://www.online-publishers.org


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CONTACT: Online Publishers Association, New York
Lisa Carparelli, 917/743-4537
E-mail: [e-mail]

KEYWORD: NEW YORK
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ENTERTAINMENT PUBLISHING CONSUMER/HOUSEHOLD
INTERNET ADVERTISING/MARKETING
SOURCE: Online Publishers Association