According to a new study by The Conference Board and TNS nearly one-fifth of American households that use the Web, use it to watch online broadcasts. This is twice as many as 2006. The release put out by the two research firms says the top two sites for viewership are “the official TV channel homepage and YouTube.com.”
Consumers in the study cited not liking a set schedule, being able to watch on their own time, avoiding commercials and portability as some of their reasons for online video viewing. In addition to these stats, the study also estimated that nearly 72 percent of online households use the internet for entertainment purposes on a daily basis. One in 10 says entertainment is the most imporant internet activity to them.
Time will tell if online video continues to attract viewers at such a rapid rate or if it will eventually reach a plateau. It will also be interesting to see how marketers continue to leverage these platforms for new initiatives in direct marketing, considering this quick increase in viewership.
