• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, September 20, 2012

The online video business might be enjoying a record number of viewers, but the number of ads seen hasn’t returned yet to the highs hit in the spring. In comScore’s just-released monthly report on video viewing, the measurement firm said a record 188 million Americans watched 37.7 billion online videos in August. That’s a rise from 184 million Americans checking out online videos in July.

The trouble is, the numbers of ads viewed in August was about the same as the month before, clocking in at 9.5 billion video ads, on par with July. The ads-viewed figure has not shot past its previous high of 11 billion in June, or even the 10 billion mark that it hit for the first time in May. However, the downward dip for ads viewed may be due to the fact that summer is a slower time for TV viewing, and TV shows often command more ads online.

The real test for the health of the online video ad market will come when the September numbers release and reveal whether viewers tuned into more ad-supported online TV shows now that the fall TV season has begun.

The top ten online video content properties for the month of August were Google-owned YouTube, Yahoo sites, Microsoft sites, Vevo, Facebook, AOL, Viacom Digital, NDN, Grab Media and Amazon sites. By ads viewed, the top properties were Google-owned YouTube, Brightroll, Adap.tv, Hulu, SpotXchange, TubeMogul, Tremor Video, Specific Media, Auditude and Videology.

YouTube inched up in ads viewed in August, finishing the month with 1.7 billion ads viewed, a rise from 1.5 billion in July. Also worth noting is that Brightroll, Adap.TV and Hulu all logged more than 1 billion ads viewed as well, meaning four properties each delivered more than 1 billion ads in August.

Video ads comprised about 20 percent of all videos viewed and 1.4 percent of all minutes spent watching online video, comScore said.