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AOL’s MediaGlow Sites Start 2009 with Record Traffic


WEBWIRE

AOL’s MediaGlow publishing division announced its sites saw record growth1 in January, with page views climbing 47% year-over-year to reach 7 billion and total minutes increasing 39% to 4.9 million.

In addition, the recently reinvented AOL.com, which opened the site to third-party content, e-mail, social networks and more in 2008, grew 5% in page views, 12% in unique visitors, 33% in total minutes -- achieving an all-time high2 -- and 6% in total visits year-over-year.

AOL announced the formation of MediaGlow in January, centralizing AOL’s publishing efforts with the goal of expanding AOL’s efforts to reach targeted audiences and expanding AOL’s global reach. MediaGlow announced plans to launch 30 targeted sites in 2009.

“MediaGlow has started 2009 by reaching its largest audience to date and building core brands that are at scale. By leaning into the fragmentation of the Web, we are creating valuable brands that are driving engagement and attracting a larger audience,” said Bill Wilson, President, MediaGlow. “Our growth signals that consumers are actively engaging with our original content that focuses on people’s passion points and that we are providing advertisers with unique and valuable solutions and opportunities to reach a highly engaged audience.”

In January, MediaGlow launched its first targeted site of the year, FanHouse, http://www.fanhouse.com, which replaces AOL Sports as the main sports destination for AOL, targeting males 18-34. AOL Sports saw page views grow 33% and total minutes increase 4% year over year, according to January 2009 comScore Media Metrix data.

BlackVoices.com, http://www.blackvoices.com, and AOL News, http://www.news.aol.com, also saw significant growth in January, in part because of expansive coverage of the presidential inauguration. BlackVoices saw page views climb 181%, unique visitors grow 53% and total minutes increase 83% year over year, according to January 2009 comScore Media Metrix data. AOL News saw page views climb 82%, unique visitors grow 16% and total minutes increase 22% year over year.

The AOL Living network, http://www.living.aol.com, which comprises a core group of women’s interest sites, started the year with strong growth. AOL Health, http://www.aolhealth.com, kicked off its 2009 America Takes It Off Campaign and saw page views grow 132% and total minutes increase 53% year over year. StyleList.com, http://www.stylelist.com, grew page views 1,913%, unique visitors 718% and total minutes 1,787% year over year. AOL Home, http://home.aol.com, grew page views 271%, unique visitors 84% and total minutes 139% year over year.

Engadget, the Official Blog of the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in January, also saw record numbers for the month with 75% growth in page views, 105% growth in unique visitors and 156% growth in total minutes, year over year.3

January also marked one full year since the launch of Asylum, http://www.asylum.com, which quickly became the leading men’s site, a custom-built category, and has seen 172% year over year growth in page views, 94% growth in unique visitors and 106% growth in total minutes.

In addition to growth within MediaGlow, AOL experienced growth in its product offerings. For example, AOL’s leading video search engine, Truveo, saw year-over-year increases of 209% in unique visitors and 239% in pages views, according to the January 2009 comScore Media Metrix report, due in part to the January release of an updated version of its free downloadable application for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch.

Many AOL sites continue to appear in the top five in their categories for unique visitors, according to January 2009 comScore Media Metrix data:

-- #1 Music: Music, http://music.aol.com
-- #1 Television: Television, http://television.aol.com
-- #2 Maps: MapQuest, http://mapquest.com
-- #2 IM: AIM, http://www.aim.com
-- #2 Business- News/Research: Money & Finance, http://money.aol.com
-- #2 Home: AOL Home, http://home.aol.com
-- #2 Entertainment-News: TMZ, http://tmz.com
-- #2 Email: AOL Email, http://webmail.aol.com
-- #3 Technology: AOL Tech, http://switched.com and http://engadget.com
-- #3 Movies: Moviefone.com, http://moviefone.com
-- #3 Real Estate: Real Estate, http://realestate.aol.com
-- #3 Health: Health, http://aolhealth.com
-- #3 Lifestyles: AOL Living, http://living.aol.com
-- #4 News: News, http://news.aol.com
-- #4 Radio: Radio, http://aolradio.com
-- #5 Autos: AOL Autos, http://autos.aol.com
-- #5 Sports: AOL Sports, http://sports.aol.com
-- #5 Search: Search Network, http://search.aol.com
-- #5 Food: Food, http://food.aol.com
-- #5 Greetings: Greetings, http://greetings.aol.com
-- #5 Local: AOL Local, http://cityguide.aol.com
-- #5 Weather: AOL Weather, http://weather.aol.com

The following MediaGlow sites also rank in the top five in their AOL custom-built categories for unique visitors, according to January 2009 comScore Media Metrix data:

-- #1 African American: BlackVoices, http://blackvoices.com
-- #1 Country Music Site: TheBoot, http://theboot.com
-- #1 Hip-Hop Music: The BoomBox, http://theboombox.com
-- #1 Men: Asylum, http://asylum.com
-- #1 Style: StyleList, http://stylelist.com
-- #1 Women’s Blogs: Lemondrop, http://www.lemondrop.com
-- #1 Rock Music Site: Spinner, http://www.spinner.com
-- #2 Horoscopes: Horoscopes, http://horoscopes.aol.com
-- #3 Latino: Latino, http://latino.aol.com
-- #3 Web Culture: Urlesque, http://www.urlesque.com
-- #4 Homepages: AOL Homepages, http://www.aol.com

In addition, MediaGlow brands are increasingly seen as leading authorities on the Web, with 25 MediaGlow sites listed as Technorati’s Top 100 sites ranked by authority for the last six months:

-- #2 Engadget, http://engadget.com
-- #9 BloggingStocks, http://www.bloggingstocks.com
-- #11 Gadling, http://www.gadling.com
-- #12 ParentDish, http://www.parentdish.com
-- #13 WalletPop, http://www.walletpop.com
-- #16 Cinematical, http://www.cinematical.com
-- #16 TMZ, http://tmz.com
-- #17 JoyStiq, http://www.joystiq.com
-- #20 TV Squad, http://www.tvsquad.com
-- #21 TUAW, http://www.tuaw.com
-- #23 Download Squad, http://www.downloadsquad.com
-- #24 WOW Insider, http://www.wowinsider.com
-- #26 SlashFood, http://www.slashfood.com
-- #29 AutoBlog, http://www.autoblog.com
-- #30 Stylelist, http://www.stylelist.com/blog
-- #30 Switched, http://www.switched.com
-- #32 Lemondrop, http://www.lemondrop.com
-- #33 Massively, http://www.massively.com
-- #36 Luxist, http://www.luxist.com
-- #42 Asylum, http://asylum.com
-- #57 BlackVoices, http://blackvoices.com/blogs
-- #61 Engadget Mobile, http://www.engadgetmobile.com
-- #61 Spinner, http://www.spinner.com
-- #72 Engadget HD, http://www.engadgethd.com -- #74 AutoBlog Green, http://www.autobloggreen.com

About MediaGlow
MediaGlow, AOL’s publishing business unit formed in early 2009, centralizes AOL’s programming efforts, including AOL.com, AOL’s content verticals and commerce and marketplace channels, dozens of niche sites, and state-of-the-art studios in Los Angeles and New York City. In all, MediaGlow operates more than 70 sites and now attracts more than 70 million unique visitors each month4, according to comScore Media Metrix. It plans to launch more than 30 new sites in 2009. MediaGlow, along with AOL’s advertising business, Platform-A, and its social media business, People Networks, represent the three core businesses for AOL.

About AOL
AOL is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs one of the largest Internet access businesses in the U.S., and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC and its subsidiaries have operations in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.

1 Record growth is based on comScore Media Metrix data from January 2007 to January 2009.

2 All-time high in minutes for AOL.com is based on comScore Media Metrix data from January 2007 to January 2009.

3 Record numbers for Engadget.com are based on comScore Media Metrix data from January 2007 to January 2009.

4 Since October 2007



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