• by Wayne Friedman , February 28, 2011

ABC and NBC continue to yield different results when it comes to their Web activities.

ABC claims No. 1 status under Nielsen VideoCensus numbers for January -- now at 4.8 million average unique visitors. It has held the top ranking from this Nielsen service for some time. CBS was second in January at 4.1 million; NBC was at 3.2 million; Fox posted 2.2 million; and CW earned 664,000.

But when looking at comScore/Omniture data, NBC continues to be in the driver's seat. For example, NBC says its monthly average throughout 2010 put it ahead of ABC. NBC had 7.9 million unique visitors; ABC was at 7.1 million; CBS was next at 6.3 million; Fox was at 4.7 million; and CW, 2.9 million.

NBC also said its visitors stayed on its sites longer than other networks, averaging 108 minutes per month. Fox was next at 96 minutes; CBS at 92 minutes; ABC at 87 minutes; and CW, 74 minutes.

The difference between the two services is that Nielsen VideoCensus delivers just Web results when it comes to videos; while comScore Media Metrix/Omniture data delivers all Web activity: video and text. Nielsen also has a product called NetViews, which measures non-video content.

ABC claims seven of the top 10 shows surveyed by Nielsen VideoCensus: "The Bachelor" is in first place with 1.06 million unique viewers; "V" holds the third position, at 771,000; "Mr. Sunshine" takes fourth place at 711,000; "Modern Family" is in fifth place, with 706,000; "Grey's Anatomy" is in seventh place, with 585,000 uniques; "General Hospital" holds the eighth spot, at 534,000; and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" settles in ninth place, with 521,000 unique viewers.

Non-ABC shows here, according to Nielsen VideoCensus, included: NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in second place, with 924,000 unique visitors; Fox's "American Idol" in sixth place, at 628,000; and CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman", in 10th place at 497,000.