• by April 16, 2003

MSNBC.com ranked number one in the Current Events and Global News category for March 2003, according to the latest audience data released by Nielsen//NetRatings. MSNBC.com served nearly 75 million free video streams during the month of March, according to internal measurements.

During the month of March, MSNBC captured an audience of 24.3 million unique users. MSNBC led all other online news sites in this category, including AOL News, CNN General News, Fox News, Yahoo! News and NYTimes.com. MSNBC led all other sites in overall reach with 18.1% of the Internet audience turning to MSNBC for news and information.

MSNBC was the only major news site to offer free streaming video including a live feed from downtown Baghdad, special reports from NBC's Tom Brokaw, and live coverage from press briefings at the Pentagon and the White House. In addition, MSNBC's Preston Mendenhall was the only online journalist based in Iraq during the war.

"We are proud to maintain our position as the leading news source on the Internet for the fifth month in a row" said Dean Wright, editor in chief of MSNBC.com. "Readers turn to MSNBC.com for the unmatched depth and breadth of news coverage from NBC News, MSNBC cable and our partners at Newsweek and the Washington Post."

Brand or Channel    Unique Audience (000)    Active Reach (%)   
1.  MSNBC
24,333                 18.1   
2.  CNN General News           23,184                 17.2   
3.  Yahoo! News                18,724                 13.9   
4.  AOL News
17,381                 12.9   
5.  NYTimes.com                 9,546                  7.1   
6.  Gannett Newspapers          7,389                  5.5   
7.  IBS Inc.
7,159                  5.3   
8.  Washingtonpost.com          7,079                  5.3   
9.  Tribune Newspapers          6,887                  5.1   
10. ABC News                    6,513
4.8   

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, March 2003 (U.S., Home and Work)