The silver lining to the cloud that the recent writer’s strike has cast upon Hollywood might be the surging consumption of online video content. This is good not only for the Web properties whose video content is being viewed, but for the very writers who are striking. Online video content and the revenue cut that the writers receive from the videos they write for has been the central issue of this strike, and if recent trends for online video continue, the writers could be in for more than they bargained for.
Recent numbers released by comScore Video Metrix indicate that more than 10 billion videos were viewed by Internet users in the U.S. during December 2007, the most seen during any month since comScore began tracking online video consumption.
Erin Hunter, comScore executive vice president of media and entertainment, suggests that the writer’s strike and the consequential lack of fresh television content could be driving the increasing consumption of online video. Hunter said, “viewers have been seeking alternatives for fresh content. It appears that online video is stepping in to help fill that void.”
Of the 10.2 billion videos viewed in December, more than 3.3 billion were viewed on Google Sites, which translates into 32.6% of all videos viewed during the month. This is an increase from November’s 31.3% market share.
Fox Interactive Media was second on the list with 358 million videos viewed, or 3.5% of the total for December. This was a decline from November’s 419 million videos viewed and its 4.4% market share.
Yahoo Sites were third with 340 million videos viewed, or 3.4% of the total market. This was a slight drop from November’s 3.5% market share.
Viacom Digital was fourth with a market share of 2.3%, while Microsoft Sites was fifth with a market share of 1.8% in December.
Time Warner Network (1.7%), Disney Online (1.2%), ESPN (0.8%), Apple Inc. (0.5%), and ABC.com (0.5%) rounded out the top 10 list.
Of the 141 million unique viewers of online video in December (76.7% of all U.S. Web users), Google Site drew 79.0 million of them, or 43.0% of all American Internet users. Fox Interactive Media garnered a unique audience of 43.9 million (23.9%), while Yahoo Sites drew 38.2 million viewers (20.8%) in December.
YouTube.com accounted for 77.6 million viewers (of Google Sites’ 79.0 million) in December. This audience watched 3.2 billion videos on YouTube, which translates into 41.6 videos per viewer. These figures dwarf MySpace.com’s 40.5 million viewers, each viewing 8.2 videos during December, for a total of 334 million videos watched.
The average online video watcher watched 72 videos and spent 3.4 hours viewing online video content in December, which showed a 34% gain from the beginning of the year. The report released by comScore also notes that the average online video lasted 2.8 minutes.
Once the writer’s strike is completely settled and fresh TV content begins reappearing on airwaves, online video’s swelling popularity is likely to cool off. However, with more and more professionally produced content making its way online, sites like Hulu.com, as well as TV network sites such as ABC.com (especially with the return of LOST) should see boosts in viewership.
Source:
http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2051
Jason Hahn
e: jhahn221@gmail.com
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