Jupiter Media Metrix - Media Metrix And Jupiter Communications

MEDIA METRIX AND JUPITER COMMUNICATIONS

Jupiter Media Metrix was formed in September 2000, when Media Metrix acquired Jupiter Communications. Established in 1986, Jupiter Communications was one of the first research firms to report on the dynamics of electronic commerce over the Internet. New York-based Media Metrix established itself as a leading measurement service for Internet usage in 1996, when it was spun off from market research firm the NPD Group. Media Metrix, which was originally named PC Meter, employed metering software to record the computer activity of its panelists. In 1997 the company changed its name to Media Metrix.

In 1998 Media Metrix acquired a major competitor, Relevant Knowledge, to form a comprehensive single source for reporting and analyzing Web usage. At the time Media Metrix was collecting data from about 30,000 panel members, while Relevant Knowledge had about 9,600 panelists. The two companies employed different methodologies, and Web advertisers hoped the merger would result in a single standard measurement system for Internet usage. Following the acquisition, Media Metrix had offices in New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco, and about 90 employees. The company built a client list of about 250 major companies and could measure 15,000 Web sites. Its major shareholder was the NPD Group.

Media Metrix went public in May 1999 with an initial public offering (IPO) that raised $51 million. During the year its client list grew to 500 companies, including major Internet players such as America Online and Yahoo!, large advertising agencies, and Wall Street firms. Media Metrix was a well-known brand and was frequently cited as a source of information on Internet usage and Web traffic. Following its IPO, Media Metrix sought to expand globally. With the help of local partners, it began supplying data on Internet usage in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, to be followed by Australia, Japan, and Canada.

Media Metrix's primary competitor in 1999 was Nielsen/NetRatings, a joint venture formed by TV ratings giant Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings, an Internet research company spun off from Hitachi in July 1997. With a client list of 150 companies and some 33,000 panelists, Nielsen/NetRatings lagged behind Media Metrix, even as it attempted to distinguish itself by measuring ad banner traffic in addition to Web site usage. At the time Media Metrix was the only Internet measurement service that tracked Internet use in the workplace as well as at home. It was also the only service that tracked AOL subscribers. Toward the end of 1999 Media Metrix added the capability of measuring online ad traffic when it acquired AdRelevance, a research firm that tracked the results of online advertising.