New Online Publishers Association Report Reveals the Impact of Broadband on the Internet Activities of 18 to 34 Year-Olds

NEW YORK, NY -- June 3, 2004 -- The Online Publishers Association (OPA) released today the third installment in a series of research reports designed to provide a detailed view of the 18 to 34 year-old media consumer. This study, conducted for the OPA by comScore Networks, focuses on how broadband impacts the types of activities 18 to 34 year-olds engage in online.

On average, adult broadband users spend 40 percent more time online than dial-up users on a monthly basis. However, 18 to 34 year-olds with broadband spend 52 percent more time online compared to their dial-up counterparts. And while 18 to 34 year-olds are not necessarily more likely to have broadband access than Internet users overall, they express a greater likelihood to obtain broadband at home within the next six months if they don't already have it than does any other age group.

"While numerous research reports have shown that broadband increases time spent online, there has been little investigation to date of where that extra time is going," said Michael Zimbalist, president of the Online Publishers Association. "This study is designed to provide critical insight into where 18 to 34 year-olds with broadband access are spending that additional time."

Content vs. Utility

On a percentage basis, the additional time spent online by 18 to 34 year-olds with broadband connections is disproportionately spent on entertainment and content sites, as opposed to communications-related functions such as e-mail or Instant Messenger or transaction-oriented activities such as shopping and online banking.

In fact, 18 to 34 year-olds with broadband spend nearly twice as much time on entertainment sites compared to those with dial-up (a 96 percent increase). Specifically, entertainment sites with multimedia and streaming capabilities register the largest increases at 98 percent. In addition, time spent with General News sites increases 72 percent and time spent on weather sites increases an astounding 185 percent for 18 to 34 year-old broadband users compared to their dial-up counterparts.

While content sites showed dramatic increases, the increases in time spent on a percentage basis on Web utilities were more modest. Time spent with e-mail increased 32 percent among the 18 to 34 year-old broadband population compared to those with dial-up. Time spent with Instant Messengers among this group increased 14 percent, as did time spent with online banking. Retail, which is similarly transactional in nature, saw only a 19 percent increase in time spent.

"With an 'always on' connection, the Internet rapidly becomes a dominant source of news, lifestyle information and entertainment. We've seen this borne out in both qualitative and quantitative research studies," said Mr. Zimbalist. "That's not to say that 18 to 34 year-olds are any less inclined to use the Internet for shopping or communications-related activities as a result of broadband; it simply suggests that with broadband, they can perform these utilitarian functions more efficiently, get them out of the way, and move on to more leisurely online activities that correspond to their interests."

Online Video: On Demand and In Demand

Notably, the study revealed that 18 to 34 year-old broadband users are much more likely to have watched an online video within the last six months than their dial-up counterparts. Comparing broadband versus dialup users (respectively), forty-one percent reported watching a music video online (compared to 29 percent); 52 percent reported watching a movie clip or trailer (vs. 32 percent); and 32 percent reported viewing a news or current event segment (vs. 19 percent). This information is particularly useful to advertisers as they contemplate their up-front television buys.

Specifically, the Internet enables marketers to reach audiences often missed by television advertising and offers superior targeting capabilities, without the risk of DVRs or channel flipping affecting ad delivery. In addition, the Internet provides unprecedented reach of the at-work audience and provides an opportunity for advertisers to effectively leverage the significant investment they are already making in producing a television commercial.

Detailed findings from this and other OPA research reports on the 18 to 34 year-old audience can be found at the Online Publishers Association Web site at www.online-publishers.org.

The information contained in this OPA report on the 18 to 34 year-old audience is based on comScore Networks' consumer panel and measurement technology, which integrates actual observed consumer behavior with self-reported consumer survey responses.

comScore Media Metrix Methodology

comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore Networks, Inc., provides industry-leading audience measurement services that report details of online media usage, visitor demographics and buying power for home, work and university audiences. 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 monitor their Web-wide browsing, buying and other transaction behavior. All comScore Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

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 110.5 million visitors, or 73 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience (Source: comScore Media Metrix, February 2004 combined home/work/university data). For more information about the Online Publishers Association, visit www.online-publishers.org.

CONTACT:
Lisa Carparelli
Online Publishers Association
(917) 743-4537
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