The Nielsen Company has released survey results showing that in the high-stakes race to become the top online entertainment and data destination, MySpace is the most frequently cited Web source of movie information among consumers 15-24 years old.
Forty-two percent of consumers 15-34 years old that viewed information and/or advertisements for the films on the Web viewed those promotions on MySpace, according to the company.
The online entertainment portal market has been driven feverishly this year with the entrance of new players from the content, social networking and cable industries. A case in points is Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), which launched Fancast this past January at the Consumer Electronics Show with an ambitious goal of becoming the Web’s top entertainment destination. It provides a wealth of movie information.
Owners of the sites are pulling out all the stops to attract as much online advertising dollars as is humanly possible from moviemakers and others looking to more effectively market their assets by focus on specific audiences.
“The Nielsen study shows that if you want to reach a passionate movie audience, MySpace is the place to focus your efforts,” said Jeff Berman, president of sales and marketing for MySpace, in prepared comments. “Creating a central point to drive your audience to before your movie opens is paying off in ticket sales and awareness for our movie clients.”
Nielsen NRG, a service of The Nielsen Company specializing in market research and strategic consulting for the entertainment industry, said it compiled results of this study using an in-theatre methodology during the opening weekend of 13 major Hollywood studio and independent film releases over the past two years.
Movie titles included The Omen, John Tucker Must Die, Step Up, Jackass Number 2, Employee of the Month, 300, Redline, Bratz, Sydney White, Step Up 2: The Streets, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Smart, and The Dark Knight.
All films collectively grossed approximately $409 million in opening weekend box office revenue. All movie exit interviews were conducted by Nielsen NRG in multiple U.S. markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston as well as smaller markets in the Midwest and Southeast. There were a total of 11,262 respondents included in the final analysis.
Top Nielsen survey results include:
- MySpace is the #1 Web destination for movie searches ─ passing Yahoo!, Google, and AOL ─ among consumers ages 15-24 years old.
- Twenty-nine percent of consumers 15-24 years old reported using MySpace first when searching for movie information (Yahoo! 23 percent, Google 23 percent, and AOL 14 percent).
- MySpace tied Yahoo! for the first time as the #1 Web destination for movie searches ─ passing Google and AOL ─ for consumers 15-34 years old.
- Twenty-five percent of consumers 15-34 years old reported using MySpace first when searching for movie information (Yahoo! 25 percent, Google 24 percent, and AOL 14 percent).
- MySpace is the most frequently cited Web source of movie information for consumers 15-34 years old.
- Forty-six percent of consumers 15-24 years old who viewed film information and/or advertisements on the Web, viewed those promotions on MySpace. (Yahoo! 26 percent, Fandango 18 percent, and AOL/Moviefone 12 percent).
- Forty-four percent of consumers 15-34 years old who viewed Web information and/or advertisements for the 13 films surveyed, viewed those promotions on MySpace. (Yahoo! 34 percent, Fandango 19 percent, and AOL/Moviefone 12 percent).
- A majority of consumers under 35 surveyed use MySpace frequently.
- Seventy percent of consumers 15-24 reported having an active profile on MySpace.
- Sixty-two percent of consumers 15-34 reported having an active profile on MySpace.
- The Nielsen movie exit study found that for the summer blockbuster film “The Dark Knight,” the Batman title franchise released by Warner Bros Pictures and one of the 13 films surveyed, the Web pulled ahead of TV as the top movie source among consumers aged 15-34.
- Fifty-four percent of males 15-24 years old relied more often on the Web for their overall movie information, while 53 percent reported TV as their source.
- Among men between the ages of 15-34, 54 percent said that their overall movie information source for “The Dark Knight” was from online, while 48 percent said TV.
