• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, June 20, 2008

According to recent data collected by Hitwise, the CBS.com online market share of U.S. visits increased 41 percent for the 2007-08 television season, marking the largest growth in average visits among the six leading broadcast network websites. ABC.com was the most visited television broadcast network website for the 2007-08 season.

ABC.com received 27.14 percent of U.S. visits for the weeks ending September 29, 2007 - May 24, 2008. among the six websites within a custom category of networks, followed by:

• NBC.com with 27.01 percent
• CBS.com with 21.51 percent
• FOX with 17.54 percent
• The CWTV.com website with 6.61 percent
• MyNetworkTV.com with .19 percent of all U.S. visits

The CW website received the second largest growth in average visits, receiving a 27 percent increase.

Heather Dougherty, research director at Hitwise, said "Online traffic among the networks has become increasingly more competitive... The continued popularity of reality television shows... has also translated to online visits... "

CBS.com had the largest amount of time spent on their website with users spending an average of 10 minutes and 24 seconds.  This represented a 39 percent increase compared to the 2006-07 season and largest among the six websites.

Among the custom category of more than 100 television show websites, AmericanIdol.com received an average of 14.01 percent of all U.S. visits to websites within the category. 

The results are from weekly Hitwise Conversions reports that rank the selected broadcast network television show websites, whether it is a stand-alone site such as American Idol or a section within a larger website such as Deal or No Deal. The show websites are ranked by market share of U.S. visits among all the websites included.