NBCOlympics.com Received Highest Level of Unique Visitors
- Over 2 Million - Four Days Before the Games Closed,
According to Jupiter Media Metrix
Mercury Interactive Data Indicates Olympic Web URL Availability Was Acceptable
At 99.2 Percent, With Transactions Availability Still Problematic
At Only 95 percent
NEW YORK and SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Jupiter Media Metrix (Nasdaq: JMXI), the global leader in Internet and new
technology analysis and measurement, and Mercury Interactive (Nasdaq: MERQ),
the leading provider of enterprise testing and performance management
solutions, today report that while the number of daily unique visitors to
NBCOlympics.com far exceeded the traffic to any other Olympics Web site during
the 2002 Winter Games, the NBCOlympics.com site suffered from relatively weak
technical performance. Media Metrix data reveal that traffic to
NBCOlympics.com peaked at slightly over two million unique visitors on
February 21, while CNNSI.com's Olympics channel and SaltLake2002.com vied for
second and third places with 683,000 and 666,000 unique visitors,
respectively. During this time, Mercury Interactive data show that
NBCOlympics.com averaged a nine second URL response time, compared with the
seven second response time averaged by all other Web sites.
Jupiter Media Metrix and Mercury Interactive monitored Web traffic and
site performance during the 2002 Winter Olympics games for the following Web
sites: NBCOlympics.com, Olympics.com, SaltLake2002.com, CNNSI.com's Olympics
channel and ESPN.com's Olympics channel.
According to Mercury Interactive Web site performance data, the overall
average availability of URLs on the Olympics Web sites monitored was
99.2 percent, with only six percent of Web pages taking longer than eight
seconds to download. When measuring sample transactions on the sites -- which
includes adding items to a cart, logging in and checking out -- Mercury found
that only 95 percent of transactions were available and a whopping 13 percent
took more than eight seconds to complete. While URL performance and
availability is much improved over previous years of Olympic site performance,
transaction times remain problematic.
"NBCOlympics.com enjoyed remarkable traffic levels during this year's
Winter games," said David Card, Jupiter vice president and research fellow.
"The sheer volume of traffic going to NBC's Olympics Web site demonstrates the
strength of cross-media promotion for special events."
"Best practices in Web site operations have certainly begun to emerge,"
said Matthew Berk, Jupiter analyst. "99.2 percent Web site load time is great,
especially considering the volume of traffic that was visiting the Olympic Web
sites. Still, load time is just one component, among many, including server
response times, which can adversely impact user experience. To effectively
and efficiently handle large volumes of special-event related traffic, Web
site managers need to set the bar higher in planning, load testing, capacity
planning and real-time performance monitoring."
"From an overall technical standpoint, the Olympics-themed Web sites
performed relatively well compared to previous years when high-profile
Olympics sites were marred with notoriously poor performance," said
Diane Hagglund, director of product marketing for Mercury Interactive.
"However, the problematic areas of the sites remain the on-line business
transactions, which are often most closely tied to the company's revenue."
Jupiter analysts attribute this year's improved Olympics Web site
performance to several factors, including:
-- Better-educated Web site managers who understand the value of automated
load-testing and monitoring tools, and their increase experience in
preparing for high traffic volume events.
-- Wider availability and reduced costs for bandwidth and server hardware.
-- The emergence of best practices for operating complex Web sites meant
to support heavy traffic volumes.
-- Proliferation of technologies to enhance Web site performance and
mitigate bandwidth requirements.
Media Metrix Audience Ratings, Jupiter Media Metrix
Daily Unique Visitors to Olympics Web Sites
Unique Visitors (000)
NBCOLYMPICS OLYMPICS SALTLAKE2002 CNNSI.COM ESPN.COM
.COM .COM .COM Olympics Olympics
Channel Channel
2/8/2002 1088 222 430 260 ...
2/9/2002 1133 417 619 ... ...
2/10/2002 572 298 380 240 182
2/11/2002 1115 457 774 328 209
2/12/2002 1227 791 774 692 ...
2/13/2002 1201 424 499 608 ...
2/14/2002 1224 579 315 301 ...
2/15/2002 639 472 426 282 ...
2/16/2002 878 215 271 118 ...
2/17/2002 966 187 326 206 314
2/18/2002 756 288 571 358 215
2/19/2002 1175 339 577 412 265
2/20/2002 1383 390 486 500 261
2/21/2002 2014 602 666 683 246
2/22/2002 1414 590 512 660 328
2/23/2002 970 513 301 228 268
2/24/2002 866 373 321 198 185
About Jupiter Media Metrix
Jupiter Media Metrix is the global leader in Internet and new technology
analysis and measurement. The Company delivers innovative and comprehensive
Internet measurement, analysis and events to provide businesses with unmatched
global resources for understanding and profiting from the Internet. Jupiter
Media Metrix brings together world-class, innovative and market-leading
products, services, research methodologies and people. Jupiter Media Metrix
services include Media Metrix, AdRelevance, Jupiter Research and Site
Measurement. The Company is headquartered in New York City. Visit http://www.jmm.com
for more information.
Mercury Interactive Corporation
Mercury Interactive is the leading provider of enterprise testing and
performance management solutions. The company's automated software and managed
services help companies deliver and maintain high-performance applications.
Customers worldwide use Mercury Interactive solutions across their application
and technology infrastructures to minimize hardware and operational expenses,
protect revenue streams and enhance their competitive positions. Mercury
Interactive was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. The
company has over 1400 employees with offices in more than 20 countries.
Further information is available at http://www.mercuryinteractive.com or by phone at
U.S. +1-408-822-5200.
NOTE: 2001 Mercury Interactive Corporation, Sunnyvale, Calif. Topaz, is a
trademark of Mercury Interactive Corporation, Sunnyvale, Calif. Product and
company names are used herein for identification purposes only, and may be
trademarks of their respective companies.
SOURCE Mercury Interactive Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.mercuryinteractive.com
CONTACT:
Ryan Oettinger of Jupiter Media Metrix,
+1-917-534-6226, or roettinger@jmm.com; or Michele Holguin of
Mercury Interactive Corporation, +1-408-822-5732, or
mholguin@mercuryinteractive.com
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