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.