comScore Announces Availability of Online Audience Measurement Services for Thailand

BANGKOK, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the inaugural report on Internet usage in Thailand from its comScore Media Metrix service. The report found that Social Networking represented the most-engaging online activity in Thailand, accounting for 29.8 percent of total time spent online in February, while Portals and Entertainment content reached the largest percentage of online visitors with 98 percent of the country's web population visiting these categories during the month.

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comScore's global reporting capability is based on samples of Internet users across more than 170 different countries, which enables reporting at the worldwide and regional levels. The addition of Thailand brings comScore's audience measurement capabilities to 44 individual countries and completes comScore's coverage of Southeast Asia's six largest economies.

"We are pleased to announce the introduction of online audience measurement in Thailand, bringing comScore's industry-leading digital insights to 14 individual markets in the Asia Pacific region," said Joe Nguyen, comScore vice president for Southeast Asia and India. "Across the region and the globe, advertisers, publishers and agencies share a common need for access to accurate and reliable insights into today's digital consumer in order to develop effective marketing strategies and grow their businesses. comScore is committed to delivering these essential insights, helping to spur growth in digital economies around the globe."

Google Sites, Microsoft Sites and Facebook.com Lead as Top Online Destinations

In February 2012, Thailand's online population, defined as people age 6 and older that accessed the Internet from a home or work computer in the past 30 days, reached nearly 9.8 million visitors with an average visitor spending 27.4 hours online during the month, consuming an average of 2,845 pages of content.

Google Sites, which includes Google Search and other Google-owned entities such as YouTube.com, led as the top Internet property in Thailand with 9.3 million visitors in February, representing 95.7 percent of the total online population. Microsoft Sites followed with 9.0 million visitors (92.6 percent reach), followed by Facebook.com with 8.6 million visitors (88.4 percent reach).

Investment group MIH Limited, which acquired local site Sanook.com in 2010, was the fourth most-visited property in the country with 4.9 million visitors, while Internet Marketing Co. Ltd., which includes Bloggang.com and Pantip.com among other sites, secured the #5 position with 4.4 million visitors. Kapook.com accounted for all of the traffic for #6 ranked Bundit Center Co. Ltd., which reached nearly 4.2 million visitors in February.

*Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs

Social Networking Accounts for 30 Percent of Time Spent Online in Thailand

Analysis of the top content categories in Thailand found that Portals and Entertainment sites led the market in penetration, with each reaching 98 percent of internet users in February. Social Networking reached 96 percent of internet users, while 9 out of every 10 consumers visited a Search/Navigation site during the month.

When looking at the top online categories by user engagement, Social Networking led all categories with 29.8 percent of all time spent online during the month, followed by Entertainment sites, which accounted for 13.9 percent. Portals ranked third, accounting for 11.1 percent of minutes, while Instant Messengers (5.2 percent) and Email (3.9 percent) rounded out the top five.

*Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or tablets

Thailand's Young Online Market - 3 in 4 Web Users Under the Age of 35

Thailand is home to one of the youngest online markets globally, with younger internet users accounting for a high percentage of the web population and commanding an even great share of time spent online. In February, 74.7 percent of all internet users in Thailand were under the age of 35, with users age 15-24 accounting for 45.2 percent of visitors and those age 25-34 representing 29.5 percent. Users age 15-24 accounted for more than half of all online minutes (50.9 percent) as visitors in this age group averaged 31.7 hours online in February. Visitors age 25-34 averaged 26 hours online, while those in the 35-44 age segment averaged 25.4 hours during the month.

*Excludes visits from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or tablets

Industry Leaders Voice Support for comScore Audience Measurement in Thailand

"Thailand is a rapidly growing digital market and brings much opportunity for advertisers and publishers looking to capitalize on the rise of the online channel in consumers' lives," said Angeli T. Beltran, executive regional director at Dentsu Asia. "comScore's measurement solutions will bring a much-needed and trusted currency to Thailand's digital industry, helping to stimulate growth in this burgeoning market."

"Microsoft Advertising is excited with comScore's entrance into Thailand.  Thailand is one of the fastest-growing digital markets in Asia and comScore's entrance into Thailand will provide publishers, agencies and advertisers with an important solution that will have strong positive impact on the digital market," commented Ken Chang, commercial director, Microsoft Advertising Asia Pacific.

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital business analytics. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

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