Joint Venture to Measure Internet Usage in China

Nielsen Online Forms Joint Venture to Measure Internet Usage and Growth in China

Venture Releases Initial Findings on Top Sites and Search for World’s Largest Online Market Delivers Innovative and Advanced Measurement Technologies and Analysis; Combines Global and Local Market Expertise

Auckland, 13 October 2008 – Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, and Beijing Zhongqian Wangrun Information Technology Co., Ltd., the operator of ChinaRank, the only Internet firm authorized to create and publish Web site rankings in China, announced the formation of a joint venture that will develop and deliver robust Internet measurement and analysis services in China, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing online markets.

The new venture, CR-Nielsen, has been officially licensed to operate in China and has received wide industry support; it is the first company authorized to support the delivery of standardized Internet measurement services in China.

As part of this announcement, the venture released initial findings on traffic to top Web sites, along with insights into several categories, including search, financial services and video sites (Tables 1 – 4 below).

“We are pleased to be working together to extend our leadership position in the dynamic and rapidlygrowing Chinese market,” commented Ms. Ge Zhao, president, CR-Nielsen. “Nielsen has set the standard for quality, reliability and innovation in Internet measurement and analysis, and we look forward to working together to help clients understand the evolving digital landscape in China – from usage metrics to demographics; from search activity to advertising intelligence."

“With more than 250 million Internet users, China represents a significant opportunity for our clients, and there has been a loud call to support this expanding market with high-quality, independent online measurement services,” said Mr. Itzhak Fisher, executive chairman, Nielsen Online. “We are delighted to be partnering with ChinaRank to develop and deliver services that combine its leadership and expertise in the local Internet market with Nielsen’s advanced and innovative analysis, product offerings and global footprint."

First Insights into the Chinese Internet Market China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the state network information center of China, estimated that there are 253 million Internet users in China (June 2008).

CR-Nielsen reported the top 15 Web sites in China, which attracted more than 28 million unique browsers each between Sept. 8 and Sept. 14. In the search category, Baidu dominated with 171 million unique browsers, more than double the volume of Google’s 81 million unique browsers. In addition, finance and video sites attracted significant audiences during the reporting period.

Table 1: Top 15 Web Sites, Sept. 8–14, 2008, China, Ranked by Unique Browsers
Rank Web Site Name Unique Browsers
(in millions)
1 Baidu 171
2 Tencent (QQ) 117
3 Sina 108
4 Google (China) 81
5 Sohu 74
6 NetEase (163) 58
7 Soso 49
8 Hao123 48
9 Youku 47
10 Ku6 46
11 Yahoo (China) 39
12 Taobao 39
13 Xunlei 38
14 Tudou 38
15 Gougou 28
Source: CR-Nielsen

Table 2: Top 10 Search Engines, Sept. 8–14, 2008, China, Ranked by Unique Browsers
Rank Search Engine Unique Browsers
(in millions)
1 Baidu 171
2 Google (China) 81
3 Soso 49
4 Hao123 48
5 Gougou 28
6 Sogou 24
7 LiveSearch 15
8 Sina iAsk 11
9 Google.com 9
10 265 6
Source: CR-Nielsen

Table 3: Top 10 Finance Sites, Sept. 8–14, 2008, China, Ranked by Unique Browsers
Rank Web Site Name Unique Browsers
(in millions)
1 Hexun 22
2 Sina Finance 14
3 Eastmoney 13
4 Tencent Finance 8
5 ICBC 7
6 NetEase Finance 5
7 Sohu Finance 5
8 ifeng Finance 4
9 JRJ 4
10 Stockstar 3
Source: CR-Nielsen

Table 4: Top 10 Video Sites, Sept 8–14, 2008, China, Ranked by Unique Browsers
Rank Web Site Name Unique Browsers
(in millions)
1 Youku 47
2 Ku6 46
3 Tudou 38
4 56 25
5 Sina Video 24
6 6 rooms 18
7 Mofile 14
8 Pomoho 9
9 Hupo 6
10 Sohu Video 6
Source: CR-Nielsen

Significant and Widespread Industry Support
The service is available today and already counts leading portals, vertical publishers and advertising agencies as charter subscribers.

“We welcome the CR-Nielsen services to the market,” said Mrs. Hong Du, COO of Sina, a leading online media and mobile value-added service provider for China and the global Chinese community.

“Our access to high quality information on Internet usage will allow us to better understand our users, resulting in an enhanced experience for them and increased ROI for advertisers."

“Reliable Internet measurement will allow us to better target our sales and marketing efforts, monetize our audience and understand the competitive landscape. CR-Nielsen’s comprehensive product portfolio is well designed to support our current and future needs,” commented Mr. S Y Lau, EVP, Tencent Computer Systems Company Limited, which operates QQ, a leading IM and portal service in China.

Mr. Tong Su, chief president of HYLink Advertising, a leading interactive agency in China, added, “High quality media measurement is a ‘must have’ to support today’s planning needs and, more importantly, drive continued growth of the Internet in China. The services from CR-Nielsen will provide us with the tools and insights we need to make more informed decisions for our clients, and we look forward to the innovation CR-Nielsen will bring to the market."

Comprehensive Product Offering
CR-Nielsen’s product portfolio will include a broad range of Internet audience and advertising measurement services, including:

NetRatings: Based on high quality samples of Internet users combined with census measurement data, the NetRatings product in China reports comprehensive Internet audience measurement insights, including key usage data and demographic information, for the Chinese marketplace.

SiteCensus: Delivers robust Web Analytics technology and tools to individual online publishers.

AdRelevance: using intelligent crawling technology, AdRelevance measures and reports online advertising measurement and analysis and has been available in China since 2006.

This latest offering from Nielsen builds upon the company’s growing presence and continued momentum in understanding Chinese consumers’ online and offline behavior. With more than 1,500 employees in China, Nielsen has operated in China for more than 20 years and recently launched a Homescan® consumer purchase panel in China that includes 40,000 households.

About Nielsen Online

Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, delivers comprehensive, independent measurement and analysis of online audiences, advertising, video, consumer-generated media, word of mouth, commerce and consumer behavior, and includes products previously marketed under the Nielsen//NetRatings and Nielsen BuzzMetrics brands. With high quality, technology-driven products and services, Nielsen Online enables clients to make informed business decisions regarding their Internet, digital and marketing strategies. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-online.com.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), online intelligence (NetRatings and BuzzMetrics), mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

About ChinaRank

ChinaRank, www.chinarank.org.cn, is a large-scale Web site ranking platform that evaluates Pan- Chinese sites with traffic measurement technology. It is operated by Beijing Zhongqian Wangrun Information Technology Co., Ltd., in cooperation with the ISC (Internet Society of China). The spirit of ChinaRank’s services it to publish Chinese Web site rank with impartiality and sincerity. China Rank has a team comprised of more than 20 well-known experts from the government, internet enterprises and relative research institutions.

ENDS

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