Study: Online video hits critical mass

Its official: online video has arrived for nearly the entire world population. According to a new study by Frank N. Magid Associates, commissioned by MetaCafe, 77% of US Internet consumers are watching online video clips with 43% watching weekly. In fact, the report finds that consumers are finding online video as entertaining and engaging as traditional Television spots in some cases.

by Kristina Knight

Researchers found that nearly 40% of consumers who watch professionally made clips online - movie trailers, sports highlights, news clips, etc - find these spots as entertaining as the full-length episode content they watch nightly on television.

The biggest news for marketers, however, is that video is drawing almost equally from the different age demographics. According to the report 33% of consumers between ages 55 and 64 watch video clips on a weekly basis; in fact, many watch online clips as they are consuming traditional television programming. Only about 20% of respondents reported cutting back on their television time because of online video.

According to a recent comScore report, American consumers watched nearly 17 billion video clips during the month of April, pushed along by YouTube's growth. However, in recent weeks, more consumers have been turning to Hulu.com for full-length television clips and content. This is pushing video viewership growth even more.

On average, more than 151 million consumers watched 111 video clips each in April with Google sites (including YouTube) responsible for 107.9 streams.

Tags: comScore, Frank Magid Associates, online advertising, online video, video advertising, viral marketing