comScore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced worldwide traffic figures to http://www.mlsnet.com, the official website of the leading football league in the U.S.

The site attracted just over one million unique visitors in July 2007 -- up 117 percent on the previous year. This growth can be accounted for by the U.S. arrival of former England captain, David Beckham, who was signed by MLS side LA Galaxy at the start of the year. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star is reported to have signed a deal alleged to be worth around GBP128 million, making him one of the highest paid sports stars of all time.

By the end of 2006, traffic to http://www.mlsnet.com had slumped to 230,000 unique visitors, down from 478,000 in July. However when LA Galaxy announced the signing of David Beckham in January, traffic immediately jumped to 808,000 unique visitors -- a 252 percent month-on-month increase.

In the intermittent period as the camera focus on 'Brand Beckham' shifted back to Spain, interest in the MLS site fell away. By March it had fallen to 392,000 unique visitors.

However, with the unveiling of Beckham as a Galaxy player at the club's ground on July 13th, and his subsequent playing debut in a friendly match against Chelsea on July 21st, worldwide traffic to the site rocketed to over one million unique visitors.

    Worldwide Traffic to Mlsnet.com                                      

	
	    Total Worldwide, Age 15+ -- Home and Work Locations(i)                 

	
	    Source: comScore World Metrix                                        

	
	             Total Unique                                                

	
	    Date     Visitors (000)  Timeline                                   

	
	    Jul 2006     478         Beckham announces retirement from England  

	
	                             captaincy                                  

	
	    Aug 2006     522         Dropped from England squad under new 

	
	                             manager, Steve Mclaren 

	
	    Sep 2006     250                                             

	
	    Oct 2006     294                                             

	
	    Nov 2006     306         LA Galaxy admit their interest in

	
	                             signing the 31 year old 

	
	    Dec 2006     230                                             

	
	    Jan 2007     808         LA Galaxy announce the signing of David 

	
	                             Beckham on a five year contract 

	
	    Feb 2007     345                                             

	
	    Mar 2007     392                                             

	
	    Apr 2007     567         Start of MLS season in U.S.                

	
	    May 2007     521         Beckham recalled to the England squad for  

	
	                             Brazil friendly     

	
	    Jun 2007     719         Beckham wins Spanish La Liga Title with 

	
	                             Real Madrid

	
	    Jul 2007     1,037       Makes debut for the LA Galaxy in a

	
	                             friendly against Chelsea  

	
	

	
	    (i) Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes 

	
	        or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

	
	

Bob Ivins, EVP of International Markets at comScore, observed, "David Beckham's impact on the MLS league's official website has been enormous. The player has single handedly doubled the number of visitors to http://www.mlsnet.com versus this time last year, which let's not forget was a World Cup year. When you look at the traffic increase that occurred in January just because of the announcement of his signing for the club, the figures speak for themselves. If anyone can raise the profile of the sport in the States, David Beckham is undoubtedly the man to do it."

European interest in the U.S. football site exploded following the announcement of the move in January, with traffic up 700 percent on December 2006. Like the worldwide trend, visitation immediately tailed off as European eyes refocused on the end of the various football seasons, but picked up again in June and reached its highest ever figure in July, with 255,000 unique visitors.

    European Traffic to Mlsnet.com                                       

	
	    Total European, Age 15+ --  Home and Work Locations(i)               

	
	    Source: comScore World Metrix                                        

	
	                  Total Unique                                           

	
	    Date          Visitors (000)                                         

	
	    Jul 2006          61 

	
	    Aug 2006          62 

	
	    Sep 2006          53 

	
	    Oct 2006          36 

	
	    Nov 2006          49 

	
	    Dec 2006          26 

	
	    Jan 2007          209 

	
	    Feb 2007          65 

	
	    Mar 2007          57 

	
	    Apr 2007          71 

	
	    May 2007          72 

	
	    Jun 2007          145 

	
	    Jul 2007          255 

	
	

	
	    (i) Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes 

	
	        or access from mobile phones or PDAs.