Online Viewers Decrease TV Time, Up Video Watching
- by Gavin O'Malley @mp_gavin, February 2, 2011
Has online video viewing reached a plateau? Well, while a full 66% of online video watchers report increasing their consumption over the past year, only 48% plan to watch more video this year, according to new research conducted by consulting firm Frank N. Magid Associates on behalf of video ad technology company YuMe.
That said, heavy online video viewers appear to be reducing their TV time and increasing their online video viewing, which suggests it's becoming harder to reach these viewers via TV.
"Reaching heavy users of online video is very important for marketers," said Mike Vorhaus, president of Magid Advisors at Frank N. Magid Associates.
What's more, multitasking is more pervasive among consumers watching TV ads than those watching online video ads. Indeed, 58% of respondents said they do things around the house when ads come on TV versus 26% for ads online.
Using Nielsen data, YuMe recently set out to determine what would happen when a TV budget was partially re-allocated to online video. Using an actual budget from January of 2010 for a consumer packaged goods brand, the share-shift study found that a reallocation increased audience reach without increasing cost.
Across the three main demographics targeted by the brand, (women 18-54, women 25-34, men 25-34), the analysis found that as dollars were reallocated from TV to YuMe's video advertising network, the brand increased its overall reach and gained access to viewers they would not have reached with TV alone.
Signaling the mainstreaming of online video, Magid Advisors found that consumers who are watching more online video compared to 12 months ago skew older and female and are better-educated.
What's more, viewers' perception of the quality of video content online has improved, while 50% of respondents felt they could find more exclusive content online than on TV.
Also of note, 49% of respondents said they watch online video daily: seven hours is the mean time spent per week.
I doubt self-reported intent is much of a measurement. Would an advertiser be swayed by ratings based on people's future plans to watch a particular show? The system is still based on guarantees and actual viewing, not guesswork. Viewers don't necessarily do what they say they'll do.
Here's an interesting line that lies by implication:
"...multitasking is more pervasive among consumers watching TV ads than those watching online video ads. Indeed, 58% of respondents said they do things around the house when ads come on TV versus 26% for ads online."
And the implication is that online ads get consumer attention.
Except, it's so easy to multitask on the computer - just open another window and do something else while you wait for that pre-roll or other video ad to finish so you can do what you really want to do.
Truth? Probably that there's just about the same ad skipping both places - except it's so easy to entirely skip an ad online.
We're all going to have to watch out for the usual lies that online interests put forth trying to pay out their VC investment.
Two points - re: Doug Garnett, I agree but I think the environments are different. When I "multitask" when TV ads come on it usually involves me leaving the room (most likely to the kitchen) and thus the ad is wasted. When I multitask online (by opening another window) I still "keep an eye on" the events occuring in another browser. And I agree with Douglas "self-reported intent" is a useless metric - this will be driven my content not by format (online vs. TV). My 2 cents...