By Will Sturgeon, 19 August 2002 12:50
NEWS New media doesn't kill old media if the experience of the recent Big Brother series is any guide. For the first time internet audience research specialists Nielsen//NetRatings tracked the shows TV and web audience and found that when the TV viewing figures peaked so did website traffic. According to the research-house, channel4.com/bigbrother had 1.4 million unique users during July while the TV show averaged 5.7 million, reaching a peak at 10 million on 26 July, the day of the final. Tim Roe, senior analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings said in the case of Big Brother TV and the web proved "complementary not competitive" but publishers shouldn't take this fact for granted. "If you can provide a programme that is visually stimulating and gives an element of danger you get with a live show and at the same time provide a website that gives you more background and gossip then that's a good recipe," Roe said. "However, common sense would say that if you can find exactly the same content in exactly the same time frame on the TV and the web then there's no need for both." Friday was the only day of the week when the web traffic peaks didn't coincide with TV peak audiences, suggesting the show's fans preferred to watch evictions live on TV. Big Brother followers were more than happy to keep track of events when at work. Home users spent an average of 28 minutes on the site at home during July. Those at work spent a massive three hours and 20 minutes online.
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