• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, December 13, 2006

Web video watching might have broken out this year, but online video ads have yet to hatch, according to new research by eMarketer. Over one-third--or 37.6%--of the U.S. population viewed video online at least once a month, eMarketer reports, but online video advertising comprised just 2.6% of total Internet advertising.

By 2010, the U.S. Internet video audience will have grown to 157 million--up from 107.7 million this year, according to eMarketer's "Internet Video Audience" report. Within three years, more than half of all Americans will be part of the online video audience.

Regular Internet users tipped the scales last year, with more than 50% video viewership. This year, 59.8% of all Internet users will have watched online video regularly, and this share will increase to over 80.1% by 2010.

At the same time, eMarketer's research shows a less-than-involved video audience. Less than 20% of U.S. adults upload their videos to the Web more than rarely, while 56% never upload, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive for Sharpe Partners.

Notably, while most online video ads will be placed against professionally created content, 42% of experienced online video ad buyers would be using consumer-generated media at present if it were more readily available, eMarketer reports, citing a study conducted in June by interactive agency WebAdvantage.

A survey of adult Web users released this week by ABI Research on Monday found that short-form content continues to dominate the Internet landscape. Older users are watching news and sports clips, while younger consumers predominantly seek out viral clips.

Just 5% of consumers who watch video on the Internet have rented or purchased a digital movie download--lower than the number who have downloaded a movie free from a peer-to-peer site, reported ABI.