Follwing Viacom's MTV Networks purchase of Atom Entertainment for $200 million on 9th August, Internet research provider Nielsen/NetRatings revealed on 14th August 2006 the huge appetite that British kids and teenagers have for playing online games, with massively multiplayer online role playing games scoring particularly high...

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Their facts and figures can be accessed as a PDF with supporting charts at: www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/PR_081406_UK.pdf

More kids and teenagers online

• One in five Britons (5.4 million) online in June 2006 were under 18 years of age

• Over the last year the number of girls under 18 using the Internet grew 7.4% - twice the rate of overall Internet growth (3.7%). In the same period, the number of boys under 18 using the Internet grew 6.2%

Huge growth in popularity of online games

• In the last year the online games audience has grown 16% - over four times the rate of overall Internet growth

• In June 2006, 28% of Britons online (7.6 million) visited the online games sector with the average visitor spending 1 hour 31 minutes playing games online

• Miniclip, publisher of over 300 types of online game, is the most popular brand with 1.3 million Unique Visitors. The ‘stickiest’ brand, however, is fantasy adventure game RuneScape, whose visitors’ average 2 hours and 25 minutes per month

Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings, “Take the fact that the online games sector is growing at four times the rate of overall Internet growth together with the increasing numbers of under 18 year olds online and it is easy to see why companies such as MTV Networks are looking to get a piece of the action.

Their $200 million purchase of Atom Entertainment, which includes games sites Shockwave and AddictingGames, is testament to the huge potential that lies ahead for the future of the sector – whether it’s fantasy adventure, puzzles, shoot ‘em ups, sports or platform games.”

Popularity of online games with kids and teenagers

• The two brands on the Internet with the greatest % of under 18 year olds are both online games brands – RuneScape (62% of audience U18) and Miniclip (55% U18)

• The online games sector significantly ‘over-performs’ on kids and teenagers - one in three (33%) of the online games audience is under 18 compared to one in five (20%) for the entire Internet

• The most ‘over-performing’ age group in online games is teenage (12-17 year old) boys – making up twice as much of the online games audience (12%) compared to the entire Internet audience (6%)

Composition of online games audience compared to entire Internet audience

• The most ‘under-performing’ age group in online games is 50+ women – making up only 59% as much of the online games audience (6.4%) as they do of the entire Internet audience (11%)

Kids and teenagers appetite for playing online games

• One in every four minutes spent in online games in the UK is accounted for by under 18 boys. One in every 10 minutes is accounted for by under 18 girls

• Under 18 year olds account for 36% of total time spent in online games (over one in every three minutes)

• Under 18 year old boys average 2 hours 4 minutes per month in online games compared to the average of 1 hour 31 minutes

• The most popular time to play online games is between 7pm and 8pm. During June 2006, 41% of the audience to the online games sector did so between these hours.

• However, the peak for under 18 year olds visiting online games occurred between 4pm and 5pm – 45% of this age group visiting at this hour during the month

“The appetite for online games, particularly for boys under 18, is particularly strong," noted Burmaster. “You are twice as likely to find a 12-17 year old male in online games as you are anywhere else on the Internet.

“Furthermore, boys under 18 account for a fifth of the online games audience but account for a quarter of the total time spent, spending a third longer playing online games each month than the average visitor as a whole.”

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About Nielsen//NetRatings:
Nielsen//NetRatings is a global leader in Internet media and market research, providing companies with valuable insight into their businesses. Nielsen//NetRatings offers the industry's premier source of actionable Internet data and digital media research on Website usage, online advertising, consumer attitudes and competitive analysis. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-netratings.com