YouTube overtakes MySpace

1 Aug 2006

YouTube has established itself at the top of the league of the new generation of community websites by becoming even more popular than MySpace, according to research.

The video sharing site has taken a 3.9% share of global Internet visits a day compared with 3.35% for MySpace, according to Internet analysis company Alexa.

YouTube's popularity has grown immensely over the first six months of the year. In May its reach outgrew that of the BBC's websites.

According to Nielsen/NetRatings, YouTube's American user base grew by 297% in the first half of the year.

Its success has been such that a price tag of as much as $1bn (£536bn) - far more than the £332m that Rupert Murdoch paid for MySpace - has been put on the company and rumours are circulating of a possible initial public offering.

YouTube's reach - the number of users per million that visit a particular site - has increased by 155% in the past three months.

In contrast, MySpace's growth appears to have slowed, increasing by just 9% in the same period.

"YouTube has a far more universal appeal, being pure entertainment with a global appeal," said Dan Calladine, the research director at digital agency network Isobar.

"MySpace's levels have been moving within the same range since April, but YouTube seems to be climbing more steeply than ever."

The average visitor spends 28 minutes on YouTube, with men 20% more likely to visit the site than women.

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