NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Did the Jersey Shore Dethrone Lady Gaga in ChaCha Questions?

During the week leading up to the live broadcast, ChaCha saw interest in the 2011 VMAs more than double that of 2010 with ChaCha answering nearly 1 million questions. The topic of more than 70% of ChaCha's questions related to the VMAs during the week prior to Sunday's broadcast was MTV's decision not to have a host. ChaCha polled its audience about their thoughts regarding MTV's lack of a VMA host, and the results indicated that this is a decision they can live with. Nearly 80% were neutral when it comes to the issue of having no host for the 2011 VMAs while 19% disliked MTV's decision and only 2% were fans of MTV's move.

Photo galleries related to the MTV VMAs were very popular destinations on ChaCha.com both prior to and during the broadcast with the "Best Videos with a Message" and "ChaCha's VMA predictions" galleries seeing the most traffic. A popular quiz on ChaCha.com was "Do You Know Your VMA Style?" which tests user knowledge of outrageous costumes worn at previous VMA ceremonies.

For the 2010 VMAs, Lady Gaga was the question queen with ChaCha users buzzing about her meat dress. Gaga and her alter ego, Jo Calderone, slipped slightly in the ChaCha rankings with her 2011 persona receiving 40% fewer questions than the meat dress did in 2010 during the event. The kings and queens of the 2011 VMAs reign from the Jersey Shore with the show and cast members drawing a dominant 22% of related questions asked during and immediately following the broadcast.

With a dramatic episode of the popular reality series airing on Thursday August 25^th, another cliffhanger episode shown as the lead-in to MTV's Sunday night live broadcast of the VMAs and appearances by the cast members during the VMAs, ChaCha saw a flurry of activity that has yet to slow down since Sunday night's events. Mobile and online traffic related to Jersey Shore has tripled compared to the previous week as ChaCha's users eagerly anticipate what will happen next with the guidos and guidettes with the question 'When can I see the next episode of Jersey Shore?' ranking as the very top VMA related question overall. The most talked about cast member was "The Situation" with users wondering why he wasn't at the VMAs and if he has quit or was kicked off the show.

Other popular stars with ChaCha users were Justin Bieber, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Selena Gomez, Nicki Minaj and Lady Gaga. As the VMAs began, Lady Gaga's surprise costume and performance confounded many users and prompted the question "Is Lady Gaga a man?" to trend during the broadcast. Content related to Amy Winehouse also saw increased traffic as ChaCha users responded to the tribute Russell Brand, Bruno Mars and Tony Bennett paid to their fallen friend. By the end of the night, a top question at ChaCha.com was "How did Amy Winehouse die?"

Here are some other questions that trended during the event:

• Is Beyonce pregnant?
• Is Nicki Minaj bald?
• What rappers are better than Eminem?
• Are Selena Gomez and Justin Beiber still dating?
• Did Lady Gaga fall at the VMAs?
• How many kids does Lil Wayne have?
• Who is hosting the 2011 VMAs?
• Does the Jersey Shore start before the VMAs?

After the VMAs concluded, related content at ChaCha.com remains very popular including galleries "And the Winners Are...," "Most Memorable Moments at the VMAs" and the "Red Carpet Recap." As all of these results indicate, ChaCha users are highly engaged and interactive with the service during their favorite TV programs, which closely aligns with a June 2011 survey in which 29% of ChaCha users indicated that they love to ask questions while watching TV. As each new showstopper appears, ChaCha users are always there to reveal what the public wants to know more about.

ChaCha (http://www.chacha.com) is the leading source for free real-time information and answers. Through its unique "ask-a-smart-friend" platform, ChaCha has answered nearly 2 billion questions since launch from more than 25 million unique users per month via online (ChaCha.com), mobile text (242-242), iPhone app, Android app, and voice (1-800-2-ChaCha ). Working with major brands such as Paramount, AT&T, Cirque du Soleil, Palm, Johnson & Johnson, P&G, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and hundreds of others, ChaCha is one of the fastest growing mobile and online publishers according to Nielsen, comScore, and Quantcast.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6845151&lang=en

For ChaCha
Brigid D'Arcy, 310-694-3132
Brigid_darcy@bhimpact.com