While the Seattle area definitely takes a lead in streaming media technology and broadcasting, it doesn’t rank that high in consumption.
It is Miami that leads the nation in demand for online streaming media, according to the latest poll from Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, Inc.
The ratings service said the Miami market ranked No. 1 with 43 percent, or 506,000 Web surfers,
accessing streaming media content from home during December, the most recent month for which
there are statistics. Seattle came in at No. 14.
“Miami has a vibrant cultural market with a growing online Hispanic population,” said T.S. Kelly,
NetRatings’ director of Internet media strategies.” “The Hispanic community looks to national and
international streaming media to find news, entertainment and other content that traditional outlets do
not offer.”
Cincinnati and Houston ranked second and third, respectively, in the Nielsen/NetRatings poll
released today. Cincinnati, with a 41 percent ranking, or 327,399 Web surfers, followed closely
behind Miami, while Houston with a 38 percent ranking, or 670,745 Web surfers.
The ranking was based on the percentage of streaming media users versus the total unique
audience for the month.
| Streaming Media Usage in Top 20 Local Markets Ranked by Percentage Reached At Home in Dec. 2000 |
|||
| City | % Reach | Unique Audience | Total Audience |
| Miami | 43.1 | 506,320 | 1,174,323 |
| Cincinnati | 41.0 | 327,399 | 797,671 |
| Houston | 38.0 | 670,745 | 1,763,703 |
| Pittsburgh | 37.9 | 388,963 | 1,027,125 |
| Hartford | 37.7 | 369,090 | 978,397 |
| New York | 37.4 | 2,621,050 | 7,004,615 |
| San Diego | 37.4 | 460,181 | 1,231,612 |
| Los Angeles | 36.9 | 1,912,679 | 5,181,405 |
| Seattle | 36.6 | 738,582 | 2,019,500 | Source: Nielsen/NetRatings |
Nielsen, better known for their ubiquitous set-top boxes that record television viewership, and NetRatings, (NASDAQ:NTRT), collect
real-time data from more than 62,000 at-home users and 8,000 at-work users in the U.S.
According to the poll, the streaming media audience in December 2000 totaled 34.6 million people or
35 percent of the total active Internet population.
In terms of shear volume, streaming media usage in New York and Los Angeles tallied the highest
number of people accessing some form of rich media content. The New York market had 2.6 million
at-home users accessing streaming media content, accounting for 37.4 percent of New York’s Web
surfers. The streaming media audience in Los Angeles totaled 1.9 million individuals or 36.9 percent
of the city’s Internet users.
“The diversity of rich media content has played a significant role in increasing the number of surfers
accessing streaming media,” said Kelly. “While broadband may take a few more years to hit critical
mass in many of the top local markets, Web users are not shying away from accessing streaming
media. Narrowband-friendly content, primarily audio, animation and mixed media are feeding the
growing streaming media population.”
* William Plasencia is managing editor for miami.internet.com, an internet.com property.
