Media Metrix released June Web traffic totals for
sports sites and the following displays combined reach (work
and home per month) and unique visitors for certain sports
sites. Reach is defined as the percentage of online users
during the month that visited a site at least once. Reach %
followed by unique visitors in millions (Media Metrix):
SPORTS SITE JUNE MAY % CHANGE
ESPN 6.9% / 4.3 6.8% / 4.2 +.01% / +.02%
SportsLine USA 5.9% / 3.7 5.3% / 3.3 +11% / +12%
CNN/SI 2.7% / 1.7 3.1% / 1.9 -13% / -10%
Fox Sports 1.0% / 0.6 0.9% / 0.6 +11% / --
The Sporting News 0.8% / 0.5 0.8% / 0.5 -- / --
SQUATTERS OF THEIR DOMAINS: The SPORTSBUSINESS
JOURNAL's Marcy Lamm writes on cybersquatters and reports
that "many athletes" now place the registration of their own
domain names "on the top of their priority lists." IMG
VP/Interactive Marketing Michael Bidwell said that he
"recommends to clients and prospective clients that they
register their names immediately." Bidwell: "In most cases,
it's a land grab out there. Most notable people's names
have been registered" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/19 issue).
In N.Y., Richard Wilner writes on the "new generation of
cyber-mercenaries" who are "gobbling up athletes' names by
registering them as web sites and then approaching the jocks
in a brazen attempt to extort a hefty sum of cash in
exchange" for the domain. Sixteen of the 22 teenagers who
played in this year's McDonald's All-American high school
basketball game "had their names registered by cyber-
squatters before the game was played" (N.Y. POST, 7/22).
MILLENNIUM PLANS: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's David Sweet
reported that the NFL has comprised a Y2K task force of
"about" 100 people, which has been "studying potential
pitfalls since" '97 and has released a 70-item Y2K
"checklist" to each team. NFL attorney Jodi Balsam, who is
heading the task force, said that the league "worries most
about third-party problems," as 27 of the 31 teams are
"tenants of the stadium they play in." Also, Sweet noted
that SportsLine USA "expects to spend $500,000 this year in
Y2K compliance initiatives (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/21).
