OPA, Nielsen Study Internet Dayparts

NEW YORK -- The Online Publishers Association today released a new white paper entitled: The Existence and Characteristics of Dayparts on the Internet. The report is the third in a series of OPA White Papers intended to provide marketers with a better understanding of Internet usage and the role of various metrics in evaluating a site's advertising potential. Using data from Nielsen//NetRatings, the paper concludes that five distinct dayparts exist on the Internet: Early Morning (M-F, 6am-8am), Daytime (M-F, 8am-5pm), Evening (M-F, 5pm-11pm), Late Night (M-F, 11pm-6am), and Weekends (Sat-Sun, all day). The study confirmed that Daytime is the largest daypart (measured in terms of both total audience and total usage minutes), followed by Evenings and Weekends. "Daypart targeting on the Internet has been proliferating, but until now, there has been no analysis of where the natural breaks in the dayparts occur," said Michael Zimbalist, executive director of the Online Publishers Association. "This study represents the first such analysis." Research shows that affluent, working people between the ages of 25-54 make up a larger share of the Daytime audience than any other daypart, while children under the age of 18 are three times more likely to be reached during the Evening and Weekend dayparts. "Media planners can improve the efficiency of their ad buys by weighting them toward those dayparts during which their target audiences predominate," said Mr. Zimbalist. The study was based on U.S. Internet usage in September 2002 from Nielsen//NetRatings. Hourly usage data for all 30 days in September was segmented by gender/age, household income and usage location (home versus work), as well as by site category. The Existence and Characteristics of Dayparts on the Internet is available, free-of charge, at the OPA Web site at www.online-publishers.org.