Commentary
Frequent YouTube Visitors Watch Less Television
- by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, February 8, 2007
A recent Harris Poll of 2,309 U.S. adults, of whom 363 are frequent YouTube viewers, conducted online by Harris Interactive between December 12 and 18, 2006, found that almost one in three of these frequent YouTube users say they are watching less TV as a result of the time they spend there. However, 73 percent of frequent YouTube users say they would visit the site less if it started including short video ads before every clip. 42 percent of online U.S. adults say they have watched a video at YouTube, and 14 percent say they visit the site frequently.
Of all frequent YouTube users:
- 66% claim they are sacrificing other activities when on YouTube
- 36% say their visits to the site are most likely to have been at the expense of visiting other websites
- 32% say their time spent watching TV is next most likely to have taken a hit
- 20% think that YouTube also pre-empts email and other online social networking
- 19% defer work/homework
- 15% aren't playing video games
- 12% are not watching DVD(s) and not spending time with friends and family in person
YouTube usage is greatest among the group already hardest to reach through television advertising: young males. 76% of 18 to 24 year old males say they have watched a video at YouTube, and 41% visit YouTube frequently.
Aongus Burke, Senior Research Manager of Harris Interactive's Media & Entertainment Practice, says "...YouTube ...has really emerged as a major force in, and problem for, the traditional entertainment industry. Not only is YouTube using a lot of their own content to steal the eyeballs they want the most, the site has provided a launching pad to wholly new forms of user-generated video entertainment that are gaining popularity quickly."
In the last year, TV networks have successfully experimented with airing of TV episodes with commercials on their websites. Nearly as many online adults (41%) say they have watched a video at a TV network website as they have at YouTube (42%). It seems like TV networks can get away with advertising more easily. Nearly three-quarters of adults who frequently visit YouTube say they would visit it a lot (31%) or a little (42%) less often if a short commercials before every clip were included.
Burke concludes that "...consumers as a rule are not averse to watching commercials online in order to catch an episode of a TV show they would otherwise miss. Yet those who are accustomed to finding and watching everything for free at YouTube may have developed a very different set of expectations for the site."
Online Video Viewership By U.S. Adults(% of Respondents; Multiple Response OK) | |||||||
Ages | |||||||
Adults | 18 to 24 | 25 to 29 | 30 to 39 | 40 to 49 | 50 to 64 | 65 and over | |
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
Watched TV Online | 74 | 85 | 87 | 76 | 78 | 62 | 56 |
Watched TV on: | |||||||
YouTube | 42 | 73 | 55 | 44 | 45 | 23 | 13 |
TV network | 41 | 35 | 51 | 39 | 47 | 39 | 31 |
News site | 35 | 27 | 40 | 36 | 42 | 32 | 32 |
Yahoo | 25 | 30 | 33 | 26 | 29 | 18 | 13 |
24 | 38 | 30 | 22 | 24 | 19 | 14 | |
MySpace | 19 | 45 | 33 | 19 | 16 | 7 | 3 |
iTunes | 7 | 16 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
Somewhere else | 19 | 19 | 15 | 24 | 19 | 17 | 16 |
Never watched video online | 26 | 15 | 13 | 24 | 22 | 38 | 44 |
Source: The Harris Poll, January 2007 | |||||||
Online Video Viewership By U.S. Male Adults(% of Respondents; Multiple Response OK) | ||||||
Ages | ||||||
Males | 18 to 24 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 49 | 50 to 64 | 65 and over | |
% | % | % | % | % | % | |
Watched TV Online | 77 | 86 | 85 | 81 | 66 | 66 |
Watched TV on: | ||||||
YouTube | 47 | 76 | 53 | 53 | 29 | 15 |
TV network | 43 | 37 | 47 | 49 | 40 | 36 |
News site | 38 | 28 | 46 | 41 | 33 | 39 |
Yahoo | 31 | 37 | 33 | 35 | 25 | 17 |
31 | 50 | 31 | 28 | 25 | 19 | |
MySpace | 20 | 41 | 25 | 20 | 10 | 3 |
iTunes | 8 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
Somewhere else | 24 | 24 | 29 | 25 | 20 | 18 |
Never watched video online | 23 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 34 |
Source: The Harris Poll, January 2007 | ||||||
Online Video Viewership By U.S. Female Adults(% of Respondents; Multiple Response OK) | ||||||
Ages | ||||||
Females | 18 to 24 | 25 to 34 | 35 to 49 | 50 to 64 | 65 and over | |
% | % | % | % | % | % | |
Watched TV Online | 70 | 85 | 85 | 70 | 58 | 45 |
Watched TV on: | ||||||
YouTube | 36 | 69 | 52 | 33 | 17 | 9 |
TV network | 38 | 32 | 47 | 38 | 37 | 24 |
News site (e.g. CNN.com) | 32 | 25 | 35 | 37 | 31 | 23 |
Yahoo | 18 | 20 | 28 | 20 | 11 | 8 |
17 | 22 | 23 | 17 | 12 | 9 | |
MySpace | 18 | 49 | 28 | 13 | 4 | 3 |
iTunes | 6 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Somewhere else | 14 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 13 |
Never watched a video online | 30 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 42 | 55 |
Source: The Harris Poll, January 2007 | ||||||
Time Spent On YouTube By U.S. Adults Having Ever Watched A Video On YouTube | |
% of YouTube Viewers | |
Uses YouTube Frequently | 33% |
More than 2 hours a week | 2 |
1-2 hours per week | 7 |
Frequently, but less than 1 hour per week | 24 |
Only visited YouTube once or a few times | 67 |
Source: The Harris Poll, January 2007 | |
Time Spent Doing Other Things As Result Of Time Spent At Youtube(% of Respondents frequently viewing YouTube; Multiple Response OK) | |
% ofFrequent YouTube Viewers | |
Spending Less Time on something because of YouTube viewing (all respondents) | 66% |
Spending Less Time: | |
Using other websites | 36 |
Watching TV | 32 |
Emailing, chatting online, blogging, etc | 20 |
Working or doing homework | 19 |
Playing video games | 15 |
Spending time in person with friends/family | 12 |
Watching videos on DVD | 12 |
Reading magazines/newspapers | 11 |
Talking to other people on the phone | 9 |
Going to the movies | 7 |
Exercise | 1 |
Other | 2 |
Not spending less time doing anything because of time at YouTube | 34 |
Source: The Harris Poll, January 2007 | |
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Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.