• by David Goetzl , June 2, 2006

NBC may be the fourth-place network, but its Web site tops the charts. NBC.com has considerably more visitors than the flagship sites for the other Big 4 networks.

For the four weeks ending May 27, NBC.com commanded a 43 percent share of traffic for the Big 4 networks' Web sites, according to online measurement company Hitwise. That's compared to ABC.com at 27 percent, CBS.com at 21 percent, and Fox.com at 9 percent (Fox hit "American Idol" has its own dedicated Web site, which generated substantial traffic.)

Hitwise also reported that NBC.com's traffic increased 100 percent compared to the same period a year ago. The data bodes well for NBC heading into the upfront. Although the struggling network may have trouble generating more dollars due to declining ratings, it may be able to partly offset the drop through ad sales related to its Web properties.

NBC.com's leadership was propelled by visits relating to its hit game show "Deal or No Deal," according to Hitwise. The site offers info on a "Deal" contest where viewers can win $10,000 and other experiences such as "The Banker's Blog."

NBC.com attracted more traffic than ABC.com, despite the ABC site offering full episodes of hit shows such as "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives." But Hitwise did say the streamed episodes gave ABC.com a traffic jolt--particularly episodes of "Lost"--leading to a 25 percent increase in market share compared to the week before the shows became available.

Separate data from Nielsen//NetRatings also shows NBC.com leading the pack, although the rankings for the other three networks are slightly different. For the month of April--the latest data available--NBC.com had 7.2 million unique users. That topped the Fox site with 6.1 million, ABC.com with 4.8 million, and CBS with 4 million. The April data measures traffic in the month before ABC.com began streaming episodes of hit shows, which could have an impact on the coming May data.

The Nielsen//NetRatings data also shows that NBC.com led in time spent on the site in April--with an average visitor spending 14 minutes and 17 seconds, compared to 11:33 on CBS, 11:16 on Fox, and 6:56 on ABC.