Brandimensions Report Shows CBS Retains Best-in-Class Network Position For All New Television Shows

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 12, 2005--

Report Issued as Part of Brandimensions Unique BD TVInsight Market Intelligence Service that Gives Entertainment Executives Actionable Information to Make Informed Business Decisions

“There is no doubt that the information generated on the Internet provides a real time look into how shows are being perceived and are trending in terms of viewer discussion and sentiment. This information will help us shape how we present and market our shows to the viewing public.”

Brandimensions today announced the release of a new research report that captures the share of online discussion and sentiment generated by viewers of the Fall season's new television shows on every major network. Brandimensions searched over 150 million Internet sites and approximately 395,000 sources pertaining to the television industry, ultimately analyzing 6,497 relevant consumer comments posted online between September and November 2005 and specific to the season's new television shows. The results conclude that with its new shows, CBS retains its Best-in-Class position among all networks, based on the greatest combination of online discussion share and high viewer sentiment. Additionally, NBC recorded the highest average sentiment for all new shows with the No.1 ranked My Name is Earl contributing greatly to the overall audience appeal of NBC shows.

The report is the latest generated by the Brandimensions BD TVInsight service, which is part of the company's entertainment market intelligence offering. BD TVInsight empowers television executives with the industry's most comprehensive and actionable selection of consumer generated buzz and sentiment intelligence reports, designed to solve an array of daily business challenges. Since 2001, Brandimensions has been analyzing consumer Internet buzz to support the needs of executives in the television, film, music and gaming sectors of the entertainment industry.

Other key findings

-- The WB posted the highest gain in audience sentiment from the pre-campaign period of May to June, 2005, led by shows like Related and Supernatural. New WB shows exceeded initial audience expectations more than any other network's new programming.

-- NBC is the overall leader in audience sentiment and second in terms of average discussion, with each new show (except for the cancelled Inconceivable) trending up in terms of sentiment score and discussion volume. This is significant, given that NBC faced initial challenges of below average sentiment and low awareness for many of their pilots -- when the May pick-up announcements were made, audiences were positively discussing only E-Ring and My Name is Earl.

-- New CBS shows dominated other network programming in share of audience discussion -- How I Met Your Mother, Ghost Whisperer and Threshold all placed in the top 5 of audience discussion share for new shows.

-- ABC's Commander in Chief initially was labeled by audiences as a "female version" of The West Wing and there were many negative comments regarding originality. Since its premiere, there has been an increase in positive comments for originality, with many viewers enjoying the mix of family and politics.

-- Sentiment for the majority of FOX shows has remained high since May, but overall low awareness has prevented FOX from competing with CBS for first place among networks (only Prison Break ranks in the top 10 of 31 new shows). Given the high sentiment, this indicates that many of these new shows, especially Bones, are well-liked and need to find more target viewers.

Based on a combination of online discussion share and viewer sentiment, following are the top 10 new shows for the 2005 Fall schedule.

                            Brandimensions

Mid-Season Audience Rankings (for all new shows) - 2005 Fall Schedule
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                                                 Share of
Current                     Pre Campaign         Audience   Sentiment
Rank(a)    Title                 Rank(b)       Discussion    Score(c)

 1      My Name is Earl (NBC)          1            11.7%        4.41
 2      Prison Break (FOX)             4             9.7%        4.38
 3      How I Met Your Mother (CBS)    3              13%        3.89
 4      Everybody Hates Chris (UPN)    2             5.8%        4.34
 5      Criminal Minds (CBS)          10             4.4%        3.72
 6      E-Ring (NBC)                   7               5%        3.62
 7      Commander in Chief (ABC)      12             5.3%        3.57
 8      Threshold (CBS)                9             5.8%        3.50
 9      Invasion (ABC)                13             4.9%        3.19
10      Supernatural (The WB)         14             2.4%        3.83

     (a)Current rankings are based on a weighted combination of 1/2
        discussion share and 1/2 sentiment for comments recorded
        between September and November, 2005 -- where discussion share
        difference is less than 1%, the show with the higher sentiment
        receives the higher overall ranking.

     (b)Previous rankings were based on audience comments recorded
        between May and June.

     (c)Audience comments are assigned scores between 1 (Poor) and 5
        (Great) -- the cumulative average is the given sentiment
        score.

"We believe that there is a high degree of potential business value in the information that Brandimensions provides, given that it is taken from a targeted audience and filtered with language and context kept in mind," said David F. Poltrack, Executive Vice President of research and planning for CBS. "There is no doubt that the information generated on the Internet provides a real time look into how shows are being perceived and are trending in terms of viewer discussion and sentiment. This information will help us shape how we present and market our shows to the viewing public."

Through its proprietary technology engine, Brandimensions has mapped the entertainment community on the Internet, covering over 150 million domains, five billion URLs and 28 billion links. As a result, it can capture new consumer commentary virtually as it happens across the entire North American market for television (all cable and broadcast network programs), theatrical releases, music artists and gaming properties. Brandimensions also uses human analysis to deliver its content, including a workforce of over 400 employees that read and contextualize targeted consumer discussion to determine what is and isn't relevant.

"This report is a perfect example of our unique approach to monitoring and processing the sentiment and consumer feedback on the Internet," said CEO of Brandimensions, Bradley Silver. "Our history of work with companies in the entertainment industry, as well as our patent-pending analysis methodology that combines powerful technology with human intelligence, has allowed us to deliver the most accurate, targeted and informative reports available. This information allows television network executives to solve everyday business challenges, from a marketing, advertising, content or programming standpoint."

Editors: To schedule interviews with Brandimensions research directors on upcoming topics, please contact Jason Keith or Kelly Kane of Lois Paul & Partners at 781-782-5000.

About Brandimensions Inc.

Incorporated in 2001, Brandimensions delivers actionable market intelligence and brand protection solutions that solve everyday business challenges. The company's unique methodology, which combines the power of technology with the intelligence of human analysis, enables the delivery of industry leading practices and programs in market intelligence and brand protection. Brandimensions is a rapidly growing, client focused, ambitious company quickly establishing itself as the industry benchmark in both Market Intelligence and Brand Protection services. Brandimensions believes in its clients and is committed to delivering an actionable business service to the best of its abilities each and every day. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Brandimensions' offices are located in the United Sates and Singapore.