FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 11th, 2016

NBC SPORTS REGIONAL NETWORKS’ DIGITAL PLATFORMS REACHING MORE FANS THAN EVER

Record Increases in Page Views, Live Stream Consumption, Video Plays, Uniques, Total Visits and Social Platform Engagement in 2015

2016 Poised for Another Year of Milestones

STAMFORD, Conn. – February 11, 2016– NBC Sports Regional Networks’ digital platforms recently closed out a record year of growth.  Several milestones were set throughout key metrics that tracked the rise of web traffic, live stream video consumption and social media engagement.

The year began in unprecedented fashion, as NBC Sports Group’s lineup of Comcast SportsNet regional networks held relationships with each of the reigning MLB, NHL, NBA, and NFL championship teams.  In addition, franchise partners such as the Mets, Cubs and Capitals climbed to the top of their respective divisions, combining fan interest with each network’s digital growth strategy to produce record results.

“We serve ultra-passionate and tech savvy fan bases in large markets from coast to coast,” said Jen Franklin, VP of Digital for NBC Sports Regional Networks.  “Our digital touch points are growing at a remarkable rate and allow us to strengthen relationships with fans in ways that extend well beyond their television sets.”

Digital highlights across the spectrum of NBC Sports Regional Networks include:

CSN New England

The New England Patriots’ Super Bowl XLIX victory and the Celtics’ return to the NBA playoffs contributed to CSNNE.com’s best year ever for traffic, averaging over 8 million page views per month. January set single-month record with nearly 12.3 million page views.

  1. CSNNE.com video plays surged +64% year-over-year.  Seven of the top 10 months for video plays in site history occurred during 2015.
  2. Single-game record for all live streaming metrics took place on Dec. 11 vs. Golden State, delivering 10,000 visits, 9,000 unique users, 21,000 live starts, and 621,000 total minutes.
  3. More social/search awareness in 2015, with Facebook referrals up 195%, Twitter referrals up 112%, Instagram followers up 373%, and the launch of CSNNE’s Periscope and Snapchat channels.

CSN Bay Area

The San Francisco Giants’ third World Series victory in five years and the Golden State Warriors’ first NBA championship since 1975 combined to propel CSNBAYAREA.com to its most successful year on record.

  1. All–time record for total visits in a month – (November 2015) – with 10.6 million.
  2. Golden State Warriors Live Extra streams for the 2015-16 season have increased 517% from the ’14-’15 season in unique users, from 30,000  to 185,000, and 721% in minutes watched, from 3.1 million to 25.8 million.
  3. CSN Bay Area Facebook page registered 100% year-over-year fan growth (186,000 on Jan. 1, 2015 to 371,000, as of Dec. 31).
  4. The video of Stephen Curry’s “Ridiculous dribbling drill,” shot at the team’s practice facility on November 5, went viral, garnering 1 million plays as of December 31, 2015.
  5. Live Facebook Q&A with broadcasters Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow during the Giants vs. Padres game on June 24th drew more than 500 questions, 112 shares, and reached 96,816 fans.

CSN Chicago

As the Blackhawks captured the Stanley Cup and the Bulls and Cubs marched deep into the postseason, CSN Chicago’s digital platforms served Chicago’s rabid fan base with its best year ever.

  1. CSNChicago.com delivered more than 110 million page views in 2015, including a record month in October 2015, with 5.2 million unique users, nearly 7 million visits and 12 million page views.
  2. CSN Chicago’s Social media engagement increased on Facebook (+64%) to 303,000 Likes, Twitter (+27% ) to 169,000 (via 15 different accounts) and Instagram (+615%) to 21,000.
  3. CSN Chicago received an Emmy Award Nomination in the Outstanding Achievement for Interactivity category for #CubsSocial Media Night broadcast of Chicago Cubs vs. San Francisco Giants.

SportsNet New York

The Mets’ surprisingly dominant march through the National League Championship Series and first World Series appearance since 2000 awakened a fan base that flocked to SNY’s digital platforms.

  1. SNY.tv achieved all-time traffic highs, delivering over 122 million page views in 2015, with a record in July of 11.8 million page views, 6.3 million visits and 1.6 million unique users.
  2. SNY’s MetsBlog increased page views by 53% to 62 million for the year, recording all-time highs in July with 4 million visits, 716,000 unique users and 6.6 million page views.
  3. Social media engagement swelled throughout 2015, with Facebook Likes surging +90% to 130,000, Twitter (+77% ) to 315,000 (via 25 different accounts) and Instagram (+800%) to 18,000.
  4. Digital short-form documentary “The Gary Carter Trade: 30 Years Later” generated over 51,000 views on SNY.tv, and original webisode series “We Ask Mets Fans” generated over 100,000 views.

CSN Northwest

The Portland Trail Blazers’ playoff berth, Oregon Ducks appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship and the Seattle Seahawks’ advancement to the Super Bowl powered a banner digital year for CSN Northwest.

  1. com set a single story record (253,333 page views) in January 2015 as Oregon Ducks Insider Aaron Fentress broke a national news story on the suspension of Oregon WR Darren Carrington just days before the National Championship Game.
  2. Single-month page view record set in January 2015 (845,314).
  3. CSNNW hired Jason Quick, 16-year veteran of Portland’s paper of record, The Oregonian, as the network’s “Blazer Insider.”
  4. CSNNW launched “The Scoop,” a 60-minute Trail Blazers pre- and post-game show only available via live stream at com/live.

CSN Mid-Atlantic

CSN Mid-Atlantic merged their Washington and Baltimore websites in 2015 to form CSNMidAtlantic.com, which immediately set an all-time traffic record in September with 5.9 million monthly uniques.

  1. CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Facebook account increased likes over 200% YOY, resulting in more than 6.6 million links back to the network’s websites in 2015.
  2. “Best of the Best” bracket-style online tournament gave fans a chance to vote for the greatest Redskins and Ravens players of the modern era. The competition dominated local sports-talk radio and drew public responses from professional athletes including Ed Reed, Darrell Green and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  3. CSN Mid-Atlantic’s cameras captured the now infamous “YOU LIKE THAT!” moment as Kirk Cousins walked to the locker room following the Redskins’ victory over the Bucs on October 25.  The Vine CSNMA created has since earned nearly 25 million Loops, and spawned an oral history article from the Washington Post.
  4. Successful launch of “Rewind” digital series, featuring condensed versions of every Wizards and Capitals CSNMA telecast, augmented with postgame sound and analysis.

CSN Philadelphia

Former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly created headlines throughout 2015, which, combined with the launch of CSNPhilly.com’s The700Level and live streams of 76ers games, delivered a milestone year.

  1. Single-Month traffic record was set in March ’15 with 7.3 million unique users and 20 million page views.
  2. Single-story traffic record was set with a blog post about the Broad Street Run (780,000 page views).
  3. The700Level debuted online, featuring exclusive content, such as a clip of Philadelphia native Kobe Bryant reuniting with his high-school point guard, which generated over 300,000 video views.
  4. CSNPhilly.com had an average of 3 million video starts each month.
  5. Second season of NBA Live Streaming is averaging 2.5 times more traffic in all key metrics over 2014-2015 figures.

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–