Online video is becoming mainstream entertainment, with young adults beginning to shift some of their viewing from traditional TV to online.
More than half of U.S. Internet users watch videos online at least once a week and nearly a quarter watch them daily, according to Frank Magid Associates. Viewing of online videos has grown among every age group of Internet users ages 8-64 since 2010. Internet users ages 18 and older spend an average of 5.6 hours per week watching online videos, up from 4.6 hours per week in 2010.
More than 173 million people watched online video in the U.S. during February 2011, viewing 31 billion streaming videos, according to a separate study by OMD.
More than half (56%) of those who watch online video weekly or more often are male, and viewership is growing fastest among 18-34-year-old men, according to Frank Magid Associates. Men ages 18-34 who watch online videos are more likely to consider their computer their primary entertainment medium than their television (39% vs. 28%).
The total online video audience, however, is 51% male/49% female, according to May 2011 comScore data cited by OMD.
Consumer-created videos such as those shown on YouTube are the most widely viewed genre, although viewership of full-length TV programs and movies is growing, finds Frank Magid Associates.
Four in 10 consumers overall (44%) consider television their primary entertainment medium, while 32% cite computers as theirs.
Although previous Nielsen studies found that avid video viewers had the heaviest viewing across all formats, this pattern is shifting; there’s now a correlation between heavy viewing of online (streaming) video and light viewing of traditional TV, according to Nielsen. The pattern is most pronounced among adults ages 18-34 — among consumers in this age group, those who spend the most time watching online videos spend the least time watching TV, and vice versa.
Although streaming video is starting to pull some viewers’ time away from television, the majority of online video viewers (65% of those who watch at least monthly) wouldn’t cancel their cable/satellite TV service and use streaming video as a replacement, according to OMD.
One fifth of videos watched online are shared with others after viewing. Viewers ages 18-24 share 28% of the videos they watch and those ages 25-34 share 24%.
More than seven in 10 Internet users (71%) use video-sharing sites such as YouTube or Vimeo, finds the Pew Internet and American Life Project. As with overall online video consumption, young adults are the most likely to use these sites: nearly half (47%) of 18-29-year-olds used them “yesterday,” compared to 28% of all online adults. Black and Hispanic adults are more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to use video sharing sites.
Sources: “Magid Media Futures: Online Video Reaches New Heights In Digital Nation 2011,” Frank Magid Associates, Andrew Hare, Research Analyst, 8500 Normandale Lake Blvd., #630, Minneapolis, MN 55437; 612-216-0703; ahare@magid.com; www.magid.com. Price: Contact for information.
“Expanding Platform, Shrinking Screens,” July 2011, OMD (Omnicom Media Group), Pamela Marsh, Ph.D., Director, Custom research and Insights, 195 Broadway, 19th Fl., New York, NY 10007; 212-590-7244; pamela.marsh@annalect.com; www.omd.com. Price: Contact for information.
“State of the Media: The Cross-Platform Report,” Quarter 1 2011, Nielsen, Kathleen Mathus, Communications Analyst, Television, 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003; 646-654-5000; kathleen.mathus@nielsen.com; www.nielsen.com. Price: Available online at no charge.
“71% of Online Adults Now Use Video-Sharing Sites,” July 25, 2011, Pew Internet and American Life Project, Kathleen Moore, Author, 1615 L St., NW, #700, Washington, DC 20036; 202-419-4500; kmoore@pewinternet.org; www.pewinternet.org. Price: Available online at no charge.
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