Kelowna

The numbers speak for themselves.

From modest beginnings to one of the most visited sites in British Columbia, it's been quite a ride for Castanet Media.

Ready to celebrate its nine year anniversary November 1, the future has never looked brighter for Castanet or, for that matter, the on-line news industry.

According to numbers released by ComScore, the internet version of the Neilson TV ratings, Castanet is number 1 in B.C. in general news with more than 5.6 million site visits per month.

"Castanet's content is bringing people back more often and they are spending more time than any other general news site in Canada," says Sales Manager Chris Kearney.

General news sites, according to Kearney, include news services in the CBC, CNN, MSNBC, and Canada.com.

"I am also astounded by our daily unique visitors using the site. About 68,000 people per day and 160,000 a week are reading Castanet whereas local competition gets a little more than 1,000."

Castanet broke 10,000 visits for the first time on January 22, 2001 before really taking off during the 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park Fire.

"We had some success from the 2003 fires. We showed residents how we could bring news to them quickly and accurately," added Kearney.

"That's when we changed our focus to provide news on site as soon as possible."

As for why people keep coming back day after day, Kearney says Castanet has become a household name, providing timely news and information.

"We also have the largest classified content of any publication in the Okanagan with 32,000 on site."

Editor Kelly Hayes believes viewer loyalty is one of the big reasons for Castanet's success.

"I've been with Castanet since the beginning and I always knew it would be successful," adds Hayes.

"The latest facts and figures show we have exceeded expectations and paints a promising future for Castanet media and the on-line news industry."

Hayes says Castanet will continue to break barriers in the coming months.

"Over the years, we have experimented with various technologies, mainly video, which has proven to be a popular feature. In 2010, Castanet plans on introducing live video feeds -- the cutting edge of on-line news media."