Increased appetite for breaking news in September -- the month in which commercial airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and talk of war filled offices -- pushed up use of streaming online news at workplaces across the U.S., according to research company Nielsen/NetRatings Inc. Nearly 56 percent of office workers in the U.S. accessed streaming media in September, which was an all-time high for the past year, the company said.

More than 21 million users at work used streaming media in September, the company said in a statement. Compared to the same period one year ago, in which 17 million users accessed such services, the percentage of Web users making use of streaming media jumped 5 percent from September 2000 to 56 percent this year, the company said.

The increase in usage was driven by greater availability of live coverage of events, such as breaking news broadcasts, music concerts and sporting events, and more surfers turning to services. In the month of September, office workers were especially interested in keeping track of developing U.S. news, said NetRatings.

High-speed Internet connections at offices allow workers to take advantage of streaming media in their daily activities, it said.

NetRatings can be reached in New York at +1-212-907-4220, or online at http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/.

» posted by abennett

IDG News Service

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