CAN HITWISE PREDICT X FACTOR WINNER?                    

London, 8^th November 2005
Hitwise, the leading online competitive intelligence service, today reports that Shayne Ward is the most searched-for of the 8 remaining X Factor finalists online – backing the bookies who confirm him as the strong favourite to win the series.

Shayne Ward the most searched-for contestant since start of the live evictions

For the 4 weeks ending 5^th November, Ward was the most searched-for contestant, ahead of Chico Slimani, in second position, and The Conway Sisters in third place. Ward emerged as the early favourite and since the start of the live shows, has continued to be the most popular of the finalists - currently receiving double the amount of search queries than Slimani. Bets are being placed in earnest as to who will win this year’s final, and last week Paddy Power (www.paddypower.com) - which has a direct link from the X Factor website - was the 7^th most visited downstream site.

X Factor more popular than Strictly Come Dancing online

The hit reality show is also commanding considerable attention online, with searches for ‘x factor’ increasing by more than 160% since the week ending October 8^th, when the 12 finalists were announced, and is currently attracting 85% more online searches than the BBC’s celebrity dancing competition, Strictly Come Dancing. The X Factor website (www.xfactor.tv) was the 21^st most visited TV site on Saturday 5^th November, although it saw its biggest spike on Sunday 23^rd October, the day after 4Tune’s shock exit from the show.  

Sharon Osbourne the most popular judge online

Despite Louis Walsh’s recent claims that he is the ‘King of Pop’, Hitwise Search Intelligence reveals that he is the least popular with UKinternet users. Sharon Osbourne, the only judge who has all 4 of her acts still in the show, is currently receiving 60% more searches than co-star Simon Cowell. Walsh meanwhile languishes in third position, with Osbourne receiving almost 3 times as many searches.

Volume of searches for the 8 remaining X Factor Finalists, 1st October – 5th November

Volume of searches for Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osbourne, 1^st October – 5^th November

About Hitwise:

Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Each day, Hitwise measures how more than 25 million internet users interact with over 500,000 websites across 160 industry categories.

By measuring more people, more websites, more often, Hitwise provides marketers with timely and actionable marketing insights on how their online presence compares to competitive websites.  Companies use this information to maximize the return on their online investment, in efforts such as affiliate programs, search marketing, online advertising, content development and lead generation.

Hitwise collects internet usage information via a combination of ISP data partnerships and opt-in panels, and complies with local and international privacy legislation as audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Founded in 1997, Hitwise is a privately held company, headquartered in New York City and operates in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

More information about Hitwiseis available at www.hitwise.co.uk

For up to date analysis on online trends, please visit the Hitwise Intelligence-Analyst Weblogs at weblogs.hitwise.com.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Jannie Cahill
jannie.cahill@hitwise.com

Tel: 020 7378 3619