• by Mark Naples , October 14, 2005

Go ahead--admit it. The first thing you thought of when you heard that so many men were streaming video in the wee hours and that more men than women were streamers overall was, well, porn. That's what I thought of, too. After all, some analysts have insisted for years that as much as 40 percent of all Web traffic is blue. It was true when I was at America Online in the mid-1990s, even on their family-oriented pages. How untrue could it be today?

But, that's not the story here. At least it isn't according to comScore, which released research results this week stating that more than half of Internet users watched online video in June.

ComScore has assembled a panel of more than 2 million Internet users who comprise a video ratings service that will be continually tracked by their research analysts. The company has filtered out the porn watchers, in order to provide better figures for those interested in the media that we're in the business of buying and selling. If you're in that business, shoo.

ComScore found that 94 million U.S. Internet users, or 56 percent of those on the Web, watched streaming video in June. ComScore didn't rely only on data gathered in June in asserting that those who watched video online did so for more than an hour--an average of 73 minutes per month for the quarter that ended June 30. They've been gathering these figures for months, because they're so sure that video on the Web is the reason why TV is stagnant and the trickle of ad money migrating onto the Web is poised to become a deluge. Go ahead and argue with that one.

As broadband has finally expanded to reach beyond half of all US households, the number of video offerings on the Web has grown tremendously. Advertisers have been right behind, leveraging their broadcast assets and building new, edgier creative to test as pre-roll video ads to be watched by consumers--a predictably more receptive audience online. You can easily understand why comScore thinks there is an opportunity here.

"Think about the just-launched Video iPod, a device that enables users who pay $1.99 to download hit TV shows like 'Lost' or 'Desperate Housewives' the day after they air, commercial-free," said Erin Hunter, senior vice president, media and entertainment, comScore Media Metrix. "Now, what do advertisers think that might do to the 30-second spot?"

For my money, it's an opportunity for advertisers who want to reach men, especially. While males make up almost exactly half the Web audience, they're 61 percent--almost two-thirds--of Web video streamers (Side note: Am I the only one who remembers when so-called "streamies" were hot? All those predictions about what was definitely going to happen by 2003 look like they may begin happening in 2006. Kooky, huh?) The folks at ESPN.com and MarketWatch were ahead of the curve. It's been well over a year since they launched their streaming video products--knowing fully how much their predominantly male audience loves highlights and tolerates cool, branded advertising for cars and such that make their days online look more like the TV they watch over dinner when they get home.

Why else do you think that online video is so important during market hours, give or take a little on either side? From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., coast to coast, consumers--especially the higher-level demographics and psychographics--are always going to be more difficult to reach on TV. But, they're online--using broadband connections.