Visitors flock to TV network Web sites, but not many watch episodes

Visitors flock to TV network Web sites, but not many watch episodes

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While the number of visitors to a TV network Web site may be high, that doesn't mean that those visitors are watching the full-episode streams of hit shows that are available. All four major networks offer episode streams and host advertising within them. Advertisers that sponsor a video stream may not be being seen by as many visitors as expected. ABC leads the other networks in the number of consumers watching full-episode streams, according to David Goetzl of MediaPost. In terms of Internet streams of prime-time episodes, ABC.com's "Grey's Anatomy" and "Desperate Housewives" drew 3.1 million unique users alone, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. NBC trails ABC in total unique visitors only slightly, with each averaging 9.5 million unique visitors a month for October through December, but NBC's numbers for viewers of online episodes are so minimal they don't register on the Nielsen//NetRatings scale, reports Goetzl. CBS and Fox sites lag in the amount of visits to their sites, with CBS averaging 5.2 million unique users and Fox averaging 2.8 million, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. However, CBS streaming shows such as "CSI" and "NCIS" run only second behind ABC in number of online episode viewers with 1.2 million unique users viewing full-episode streams in October.