Yahoo!'s Official Australian Idol Web Site Strikes a Chord with Devoted Fans
SYDNEY, 19 August 2003 - Australian Idol, the latest TV phenomenon to air on Australian screens, is also enjoying enormous popularity at the official online site run by yahoo.com.au (australianidol.yahoo.com.au)Close to two million page views on the main site (not including the official group and chat room) have already been recorded, with the figure rising each week.
The popularity of the site can be attributed to the extensive range of interactive online features including streaming video (65,000+ streams already viewed), chat (computer users with microphones are even singing to each other in the chat room), show recaps, contestant profiles, and photos, each allowing the viewer to interact with the program beyond the Sunday night screenings.
Of interest….
- More than 65,000 Idol video streams on the Yahoo! site have been viewed so far, totalling more than 81,000 minutes of video viewed over the Internet
- Most popular streams so far: The human beat box Joel, followed by Lorena, Croc, Shannon and Jimmy. Current streams include videos of Group 2's performances, so you can see if you agree with who got through!
- 50% of video streams are being viewed on broadband
- 55% of people are logging on at night
- Night-time users are viewing an average of 5 video clips each
- More than 40 video streams are currently available on the site
- More than 1,400 people have already joined the official Yahoo! Group for the show. Here you can see what fans are saying about the show and the singers, there's thousands of messages already!
One of the unique features of the site is the opinion polls conducted with online fans, with some recent polls revealing some very interesting and quirky facts and figures about Australian Idol, including:
- Despite the ongoing criticism that the judges were being too harsh at the auditions, 58% of online respondents believed the judges were being reasonable with only 30% of respondents arguing that the judges were being too harsh. The remainder said they didn't really care either way.
- When respondents were asked who their favourite judge is, Marcia Hines scored the majority of votes at 69%, followed by Dicko (Ian Dickson) with 21%, and Mark Holden receiving only 10% of the votes.
- After the final 40 contestants were revealed, fans were asked who they thought should have made it through to the final 40. The outrageously popular Liban scored 68% of the votes!
As the show progresses, online users can look forward to a range of new features to be added to the site including online chats with each of the judges as well as the chance to chat with some of the 11 finalists once they've been selected, as well as download screensavers, play games, enter competitions, and apply for tickets to the live shows.
Australian Idol is a Grundy Television production for Network Ten.
To visit the Australian Idol site, go to www.yahoo.com.au and type in Idol, or head straight to australianidol.yahoo.com.au
-ENDS-
About Yahoo! Australia & NZ
Yahoo! Australia & NZ (www.yahoo.com.au) is one of the most recognised Internet brands in the region. www.yahoo.com.au is part of the global network of Yahoo! sites. Yahoo! provides comprehensive online products and services to over four million Australian and New Zealand consumers and businesses each month. Yahoo! Australia & NZ entered into the strategic relationship with Network Ten and Grundy Television to design, build, host, maintain and commercialise the official web site for Australian Idol.
For further information please contact:
Gareth Llewellyn
Professional Public Relations
02 9818 4044 | Anna Featherstone
Yahoo! Australia & NZ
02 8925 0126 |
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