SPORTSLINE USA IS MOST VISITED OF INTERNET SPORTS SITES IN JULY
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (August 23, 1999) -- SportsLine USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLN),
the leading global Internet sports media company, announced today that its
combined reach among Internet users at home and at work exceeded all other
sports Web sites* for the month of July. According to Media Metrix,
SportsLine USA's combined reach among users at home and at work was 6.6% in
July, compared with a 6.4% reach for ESPN.** SportsLine's reach increased
12% over June's reach of 5.9%, while ESPN's reach declined 7% from its June
reach of 6.9%. Reach is defined as the percentage of unduplicated Internet
users for the month that visited a site at least once.
Unique visitors to SportsLine USA also exceeded all other sports Web sites
in July. Approximately 4.2 million unique visitors were recorded by
SportsLine USA for the month, according to Media Metrix compared with 4.0
million for ESPN. Unique visitors are defined as the total number of
different individuals who visited a given site during the month.
"SportsLine significantly outperformed its sports category peers with 13%
monthly sequential growth in July, especially impressive given the numerous
marquee sporting events in June," said Larry Marcus, Internet and electronic
media/content analyst for Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.
"As more Internet users are exposed to SportsLine, they recognize that our
content is the most comprehensive and compelling of any sports site," said
Michael Levy, president and CEO of SportsLine USA, Inc. "We continue our
ongoing commitment to providing the best sports content on the Web as
evidenced by our hiring in July of acclaimed NFL writer Len Pasquarelli.
Quality content, combined with our enhanced promotions with CBS Television
and Westwood One/CBS Radio Sports, positions SportsLine well for continued
growth going into the NFL and NCAA football seasons."
Following is a table that displays combined reach (work+home) and unique
visitors for certain Internet sports domains:
Domain Name Percentage Reach Unique Visitors (in millions)
July June % Change July June % Change
SportsLine USA 6.6% 5.9% +12% 4.2 3.7 +13%
ESPN** 6.4% 6.9% -7% 4.0 4.3 -6%
CNN/SI 2.6% 2.7% -4% 1.6 1.7 -5%
FOX Sports 0.9% 1.0% -10% 0.6 0.6 --
Source: Media Metrix, The Web Report
* Sports Web site category defined by SportsLine
** Does not reflect ESPN Internet Group
The combined SportsLine USA Network reach for July, which includes the reach
provided by SportsLine's programming of Netscape Netcenter Sports, increased
13% from 6.3% in June to 7.1%. The SportsLine Network reach percentage for
July does not include majorleaguebaseball.com, which SportsLine began
producing during the month. ESPN Internet Ventures, which includes nfl.com,
nba.com, nascar.com and wnba.com, declined by 5% from 9.8% to 9.3%.
Even though the re-launch of majorleaguebaseball.com is not included in the
SportsLine Network reach figures, the site, which SportsLine began producing
on July 1st showed the largest increase of any sports site during the month.
It's reach grew by 71% from 1.4% in June to 2.4% in July, and its unique
visitors increased from 900,000 in June to 1.5 million in July, a 67%
increase.
About SportsLine USA, Inc.
SportsLine USA, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLN) is at the leading edge of media
companies, providing Internet sports content, community and e-commerce on a
global basis. SportsLine USA's content includes more than 400,000 pages of
multimedia sports information, entertainment and merchandise. SportsLine
USA was founded in 1994 and its flagship Internet sports service
(www.sportsline.com) was renamed CBS SportsLine in March of 1997 as part of
an exclusive promotional and content agreement with CBS Sports. SportsLine
USA produces the official league Web sites for Major League Baseball, the
PGA TOUR and NFL Europe League, and serves as the primary sports content
provider for America Online, Netscape and Excite. In May 1999, the Company
commenced operations in Europe through its majority-owned subsidiary,
SportsLine Europe Limited.
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