Online Video Viewing Continues Growth
According to a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Americans appetite for video on the Internet has nearly doubled since 2006.
"The audience for online video-sharing sites like YouTube and Google Video continues to grow swiftly across all demographic groups, far outpacing the adoption rates of many other Internet activities," Pew said.
In 2006, 33 percent of adult Internet users watched content on video-sharing sites. In the recent study, that number jumped to 62 percent.
"Over time, online video has become more deeply integrated into daily life, and has started to move into the spaces that are typically reserved for traditional television viewing," Pew said. "Overall, 19 percent of Internet users say they use video-sharing sites on a typical day."
According to Pew, the increase is largely due to the fact that 63 percent of Americans now have high-speed Internet access at home.Â
Nearly 69 percent of broadband users watch video online, according to the study.
Since 2007, the percent of Internet users who said they watched movies or TV shows online more than doubled, going from 16 to 35 percent.
Pew also found that the use of video-sharing sites outrank other Internet activities, including social networks like Facebook, and microblogging site Twitter.
"Online video has evolved into an on-demand Internet activity," said Mary Madden, Pew Internet Project senior research specialist. "It’s an extremely powerful medium “” the killer app of Web 2.0."
According to Pew, although the majority of content on video-sharing sites is contributed by users, professional content is growing in popularity on YouTube, and network-sponsored sites like Hulu, a joint venture between General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal and News Corp.
Last spring, a comScore Video Metrix report showed that American Internet users viewed 14.5 billion videos in March, which was an 11 percent increase over February numbers.
According to a comScore report, "the average online video viewer watch 327 minutes of video, or nearly 5.5 hours” in March.
The Pew study also found that 14 percent of cell phone users are watching video on their mobile devices, which is a 4 percent increase over a 2007 report.
"Cell phone users are more likely to record video on their cell phones than they are to watch it; 19 percent of cell phone users now say they have recorded video with their phone," Pew said.
"Video-sharing capability is increasingly being hard-wired into the mobile devices we carry with us all the time," Madden told MSNBC.
"So, while online video is far from replacing traditional TV viewing, the barriers to entry for new users are very low, and the sheer amount and diversity of content out there to watch is staggering."
Some Americans are also connecting their computers to their TV’s to view online content, the research said.
Among those watching movies or TV online, 23 percent said they have done this, the majority of those being men.
Pew researchers believe the recession may be driving computer-to-TV video setups.
"Americans who have cut back on cable or TV expenses are more likely to watch online video on their televisions," Pew said.
According to a separate Pew report, 22 percent of Americans say they have cut their cable services, while only 9 percent have cut back on Internet service.
"Those who have canceled or cut back on cable and TV services are more likely to have ‘rerouted’ their online video viewing to their television screen," Pew said. "Among this economizing group … 32 percent have connected their computer to their TV screen to watch Internet video."
"I think it’s interesting to see that the convergence of the Internet and the TV that many experts have predicted is marching ahead and may have received a boost from those who have cut back on cable costs due to the recession," Madden said.
Pew interviewed 2,253 adults between March 26 and April 19 for the study.
They found that 90 percent of Internet users in the 18-to-29 age range use video-sharing sites, compared to 72 percent a year ago.
"On a typical day … 36 percent of young adult Internet users watched video on these sites, compared with just 30 percent in 2008," Pew said.
Adults age 30 to 49 "also showed big gains over the past year," with 67 percent now using video-sharing sites, compared to 57 percent in 2008.
"Online video viewing is still far from being the norm among Internet users ages 50 and older," Pew said, although this audience is growing year by year, they added.
Almost 41 percent of Internet users age 50 to 64 said they watch video online, up from 34 percent a year ago.
"Likewise, 27 percent of wired seniors ages 65 and older now access video on these sites, compared with just 19 percent who were doing so at this time last year," Pew said.
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