Statistics for Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09
Media statistics published today for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09 show a huge increase over the 2005-06 event. The race is in tune with the new media age, and in 2008-09, plenty of high quality content was streamed to websites and mobile handsets. The new addition of each boat carrying a Media Crew Member, who was a dedicated reporter equipped with the latest technology in High Definition filming and satellite communication, has also proved to be a big step forward.
Media reach was generated through a multi-channel communication approach with a sharper online focus including the official website, broadband TV, a mobile portal in partnership with Ericsson, a highly successful online game and use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
"As the media world evolves into a more online community, we have had great success with our online properties and new media areas. Our official website had over 89 million visitors with over one million fans visiting more than 100 times and the Official Game was a run-away success with over 221,768 players from over 180 countries," said Volvo Ocean Race CEO, Knut Frostad.
The cumulative broadcast audience was 1.3 billion. Over 3,300 hours of coverage was generated through 11,000 broadcasts in 46 different territories on 217 channels globally. This resulted in a television media value for Volvo alone of USD107 million.
It was also significantly improved by the introduction of new territories on the racetrack and China, for example, delivered an audience of 600 million, 45 per cent of the race total. Programming reached Western, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East, Central Asia, the Far East and the Pacific Rim in countries as diverse as Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Iran, Iraq, Latvia, Slovakia and South Korea.
"We are very happy with the numbers we have generated in the 2008-09 edition of the race. Not only have we surpassed the previous race in media reach, but we have increased our value in new territories such as India and China," Frostad added.
Print stories about the crews' ongoing battle against the forces of nature were featured in publications ranging from mass-circulation newspapers and lifestyle magazines to specialist titles with niche readerships.
The event generated 13,038 press cuttings in 15 monitored territories, providing a cumulative circulation of 606 million, a 104 per cent increase on the previous race.
The combination of TV and print gave Volvo a media value of USD 116.5million, an increase of 34.6 per cent, and a syndicate media value of USD 279.4million, an increase of 52 per cent.
VITAL STATISTICS
Online
English, Spanish, Russian, Chinese websites received 23,855,785 visits combined - 27.5% increase over 2005-06
4,060,0928 unique visitors to www.volvooceanrace.org - 15.7% increase
89,596,892 million cumulative online audience (visits) from all Volvo Ocean Race online properties
83.62% of the audience visited the site more than once
63.27% of the audience visited the site more than nine times
Over one million users visited the site more than 100 times
The biggest single day (Monday, 15 June, leg nine) drew 200,351 visits to the four sites
Daily average during race legs was 125,256 visits
95,352 was the highest number of unique visitors
10,147,842 total visits to all race viewers
Online Articles
30,202 online articles
101 countries published online articles
3181 online sites carrying stories on the race
Mobile Platform
10 million mobile page views delivered to over five million visits.
Every second of the race, somebody was hitting the server
Mobile traffic increased by 2.5 per cent
Online Game
221,768 registered players from more than 180 countries
Broadband
1,199,892 visitors to www.volvooceanrace.TV
Print
1.619 billion readers - cumulative readership from 13,038 articles
Cumulative print circulation 606.7 million - 104 per cent increase
Broadcast
1.327 billion viewers cumulative TV audience from 11,057 broadcasts, from 46 different countries provided over 3,386 hours of coverage
400 news outlets from 62 different countries downloaded a total of 10,463 video news clips
Radio
1.168 billion listeners, cumulative radio audience from nearly 1,500 broadcasts
Media Value TV and Print
54.2 million USD* average TV and print media value for each team's main sponsor. *This figure represents the top seven teams
Images
4473 images distributed to publications in 103 countries
Over 3,000 registered users
Over 160,000 image downloads
For media information on the Volvo Ocean Race, please contact:
Lizzie (Green) Ward - Senior Press Officer (Race HQ - UK)
Tel +44 1489 554 832 Mob +44 7801 185 320
lizzie.ward@VolvoOceanRace.com
Or
Sophie Luther - International Press Officer
Tel + 44 1489 554 858 Mob +44 7595 116 797
Sophie.luther@volvooceanrace.com
Full press information can be read and downloaded from http://press.volvooceanrace.org
Editors' Notes: The Volvo Ocean Race
The next Volvo Ocean Race will start in the Spanish port of Alicante in the autumn of 2011.
The boat design is regulated and built for speed whilst safety remains a key concern.
The first 31,250 nautical-mile race first took place over 35 years ago (as the Whitbread Round the World Race 1973-74), testing the crews against some of the most ferocious elements that man can encounter. The 2011-12 race will be the 11th edition of the event.
