BOSTON, MA -- (Marketwire) -- 08/16/10 -- Compete, a Kantar Media company, today released data that shows the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a successful online event in the U.S. Driven by the excitement about the U.S. squad's chances, streaming of live matches and frenzied interest in individual global stars, traffic to World Cup-related sites was noteworthy and will certainly capture the attention of advertisers as World Cup 2014 approaches.

The "Other" Football
Soccer, traditionally less popular in the U.S. compared to other countries, made a mainstream splash as World Cup fever heated up. Beginning in February 2010, Compete's "Soccer" category experienced strong month-over-month gains. In June, sites in the category saw a total of 8,132,868 unique visitors (UVs), a 231.8 percent increase from May's visitors. At the site level, fifa.com topped the list with a total of 6,843,239 UVs, representing a month-over-month increase of 548.34 percent and a 753.84 percent uptick from June of 2009. Other notable increases include goal.com with 636,195 UVS (+98.51 percent month-over-month; +130.21 percent year-over-year), ussoccer.com at 553,818 UVs (+109.78 percent month-over-month; +246.61 percent year-over-year), mediotimpo.com with 168.402 UVs (+38.54 percent month-over-month; +163.65 percent year-over-year) and socceramerica.com with 56,345 UVs (+44.67 percent month-over-month; +68.92 percent year-over-year).

Streaming Content Scores a Goal
Soccer fans around the globe may have flocked to giant televisions in city squares and local bars to watch their respective national teams, but online was also a popular destination for the latest matches. Espn.go.com and futbol.univision.com both streamed every match live and experienced tremendous traffic increases as a result. During the month of June, a total of 20,439,267 UVs visited espn.go.com, giving the site a 27.76 percent increase from the previous month and a 48 percent uptick from June 2009. Futbol.univision.com also reaped the traffic benefits of streaming the World Cup matches; the site experienced a total of 1,276,062 UVs in June, up a whopping 196.84 percent from the previous month.

Fan Favorites
Throughout the duration of the World Cup, soccer fanatics flocked to the web to get the latest information on their favorite players. Traffic to landondonovan.com was up 2100.86 percent in June with a total of 18,003 UVs, many of whom likely logged on to learn more about the player after his performance made him the highest scoring American in World Cup history. Cristiano-ronaldo.org, the online home of the popular Real Madrid star, saw a total of 13,441 UVs for the month up 400 percent from 3,354 UVs in May 2010. Other popular World Cup player's sites include England's Wayne Rooney (1,540 UVs), Argentinean coach Diego Maradona (5,984 UVs) and Mexico's Carlos Vela (4,037 UVs).

Information regarding industry categories is drawn from Compete PRO Enterprise, a digital intelligence solution used by some of the internet's most successful Web sites. For more information on Compete PRO Enterprise, please contact Gavin Blackmore at gblackmore@compete.com.

About Compete
Compete, a Kantar Media company, helps the world's top brands improve their marketing based on the online behavior of millions of consumers. Leading marketers such as Carlson Hotels Worldwide, Hyundai Motor America, Upromise, Chrysler, and Verizon Wireless rely on Compete's services to create effective online experiences and highly profitable advertising campaigns. Compete's online behavior database -- the largest in the industry -- makes the Web as ingrained in marketing as it is in people's lives.

Compete was founded in 2000 and is located in Boston, MA, with offices throughout the U.S. For more information about us, please visit http://www.competeinc.com/, or to join the conversation visit http://www.compete.com/.

About Kantar Media
Established in more than 50 countries, Kantar Media helps clients master the world's multimedia momentum through analysis of print, radio, TV, internet, cinema, mobile, social media, and outdoor worldwide. Kantar Media offers a full range of media insights and audience measurement services through its global business sectors -- Intelligence, Audiences, TGI and Custom. Kantar Media companies also include Compete, Cymfony and SRDS. Drawing upon the deepest expertise in the industry, Kantar Media tracks more than 3 million brands and delivers insight to more than 22,000 customers worldwide.
www.KantarMediaNA.com

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