Local news and weather sites attract the most South African Internet surfers, who seem to largely support locally-generated content, according the latest Nielsen//NetRatings survey.
According to the survey done for the month of August, news and weather sites accounted for 23% of all time spent by South Africans online (1.1 million hours), followed by media and publishing sites with 16% (800 000).
The survey states the 10 most engaging categories account for 92% of all time spent by South Africans online during August. However, the survey does not detail international Web sites visited by South Africans.
Alex Burmaster, European Internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, comments: "The dominance of Media24 in the South African landscape is astonishing when one considers that just over one in every four minutes online is spent on their sites - and when comparing that to the most dominant brands in other countries."
Burmaster says MSN, for example, is the most dominant brand in the UK, in terms of time, yet accounts for "just" 12% of total time. Similarly, in Australia, Nine/MSN also accounts for 12% and, in the US, it's AOL that accounts for "just" 9% of total time.
Jannie Momberg, News24.com editor, says South Africans are news-oriented when it comes to big breaking events, such as sport, and they are inclined to turn to Internet sites quickly when something happens.
"We have developed a strategy of constantly reporting local and international news quickly and that has helped boost our readership. Fast and timely updating of news is part of the Internet genre," he says.
Momberg says News24.com has developed a loyal readership base over the years, but it adds new readers whenever there is a big event.
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