• by Masha Geller , August 26, 2002

If web traffic is any indication, there is still quite an interest in reality TV. Nielsen//NetRatings reports that traffic to CBS.com surged more than 27% during the week ending August 18 at work, as the network's popular reality shows, "Big Brother" and "Survivor," attracted office workers to the site.

CBS.com drew nearly 1.3 million surfers from work, compared to more than one million surfers the previous week. More than 35% of CBS.com's audience logged onto the "Big Brother 3" page, while 24% of the site's audience visited the "Survivor 5" page, with the network announcing the latest cast members for "Survivor: Thailand" last week.

"Online audiences often mimic TV audiences, as we've seen this last week with increased traffic to CBS.com," said TS Kelly, director and principal analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings. "Sites such as CBS.com have been successful in providing interactive content for surfers, allowing fans to access cast member bios, view special videos and participate in online polls."

Elsewhere on the web, traffic to the Republican National Committee's official website jumped 69% at home for the week ending August 18, 2002, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. The site attracted 369,000 unique visitors with men comprising 54% of the total audience.

Also, the official site of the Internal Revenue Service jumped 48% to 526,000 unique visitors at work for the week ending August 18, as late filers logged on to meet the August 15th tax extension deadline. More than a third (35%) of the site's traffic visited the forms and publications download page.