The Internet delivers audiences comparable in size to television and magazines, according to a new study by DoubleClick Inc. and Cross Media Reach.
On average, the top three Web sites attracted audience sizes 43% larger than the top three prime time television programs, and only 5% smaller than the top three consumer magazines.
Yahoo Search, MSN Hotmail and MSN Search had audience sizes of nearly 23 million, while TV shows, “Friends,” “ER” and “Will and Grace” had 14.7 million, 13.3 million and 10.9 million viewers, respectively.
Consumer magazines, on average, deliver ratings that beat the other two mediums though. People magazine is the leader in attracting large audiences, with 26.6 million readers.
In another finding, the Internet is highly effective in reaching two coveted demographic groups: teens and adult males. In these specific groups, the 25 most popular Internet sites deliver higher ratings than the top 25 TV programs or magazines in these same demographic groups.
The study compared the 235 most popular Internet sites, primetime TV programs and consumer magazines across 12 different demographic categories.
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