A Quick Analysis of Online Video

Posted on April 6th, 2009 (2)

User Generated Content

The paradigm shift is beginning to take shape for online video as more people gain access to faster connection speeds. Now in both time spent and number of viewers, online video is growing a rate twice that of television, according to a Neilson study.

The dominant player in this online video market is of course YouTube. In fact, YouTube is now the second largest search engine, even though it’s just for videos. YouTube’s first to market advantage is creating a major market for online video.

According to comScore, 12.6 billion videos were watched in November 2008 across all video sites, a 34% increase annually; while, in January 2009, 14. Billion videos were watched around the web. In relation to this, 75% of Americans are now watching online video.

Now, other sites such as Hulu.com for video clips and syndicated television shows are seeing massive growth. In February 2009, 34.7 million monthly uniques visited Hulu.com, a 42% increase. While the BBC’s iPlayer during February had an annual traffic increase of 152%.

Advertisers are beginning to take notice. Permission TV conducted a study of 400 executives, revealing that their digital marketing budgets are now giving top priority to online video, with 62% wanting video to become nonlinear with increased interactivity. If eMarketer’s forecasting is correct, online video advertising will reach $4.6 billion.

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