Category: World
Service
Date: 20.12.2004
Printable version
The BBC's international news
site - bbcnews.com - is among the top 10 online news sites which users
in the United States are aware of, with 61 per cent trusting the BBC
more than US news sources, an online survey has revealed.
According to the survey, more than four in 10 US online news users
regularly go to bbcnews.com and a further 37 per cent would consider
using it in the future.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the BBC by the international research
agency TNS, was designed to assess the popularity of some key US news
sites and to see how the BBC performed against top online sites in the
US.
Alan Booth, Controller of Marketing, Communications and Audiences,
BBC World Service, commented: "We had known that the majority of impressions
to BBC sites - 80 per cent - go to news pages, and that half of all
traffic to the bbcnews.com site comes from the US.
"This survey revealed that bbcnews.com is a popular and much admired
site in the world's most competitive online market.
"It is the first time that we have surveyed US online news users,
and the results are very encouraging."
With 71% of those surveyed aware of bbcnews.com, the site rated ahead
of CBS News (70%), USA Today (69%), Reuters (64%), Google News (53%)
and AOL News (53%) in terms of awareness.
84% of those surveyed rated the BBC "as a company with a history
of providing great news coverage", 61% "trust the BBC's world
news coverage over that of US owned media", and 67% believe "the
BBC provides better coverage than US news services".
The survey was conducted online among US online news users and appeared
on leading international news sites including IHT, Washington Post,
Economist and a selection of AOL news sites.
Notes to Editors
bbcnews.com is the website of the BBC's news services featuring news
and analysis with a special emphasis on a global news agenda.
bbcnews.com also offers easier access to international coverage of
sport, arts, science and technology, as well as the BBC World Service's
site which features text and audio in 43 languages.
It contains detailed information about World Service broadcasts, schedules
and frequencies in all languages.
