TV3’s website traffic increases by 239%
Just over a year after its relaunch as a video-driven site, theTV3 website has grown its traffic by 239 per cent, and is expecting considerably more growth in 2010, according to TV3.
The commercial broadcaster’s website is a pure entertainment proposition. It includes a catch-up service to allow users to view episodes of popular bought-in soaps, such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale, as well as homemade programmes, such as Tonight with Vincent Browne and Ireland AM.
In the past few months, hit shows such as the X Factor and The Apprentice have helped secure a series of traffic spikes for the site, which won a Golden Spider Grand Prix award last year and secured a nomination this year.
According toTV3’s head of web services, Peter Clerkin, theTV3 site now gets close to 500,000 unique users (from internal figures), and the average time spent on the site is 15 to 16 minutes.
‘‘We’re so young,” said Clerkin, ‘‘we expect that we’ll see the real growth in this online video content in the next 24 or 36 months. We think we’re already in the top three sites for online video in Ireland.”
TV3 is operating in a market dominated by RTE, whose online version boasts audited usage of 2.6 million.
But Clerkin noted that RTE had operated a good website for ten years or so, whereas TV3’s site was relatively basic until being relaunched in October 2008 as an interactive site featuring 80 per cent video.
‘‘We think there is an opportunity for us to compete with RTE online,” he said. ‘‘We’re still growing every month – we haven’t peaked yet.”
Clerkin expects mobile content to drive TV3’s online growth in 2010 and said social networking would also drive expansion.
TV3 is already active on Facebook, and uses Twitter to alert people to its upcoming new TV shows.
TV3 is also planning to add more innovative content to its site.
It ran an interactive game to work alongside The Apprentice show.
