Commentary

Online Video a Male Province So Far

Online Video a Male Province So Far

According to a new E-Marketer study and report, there will be an estimated 97 million females online in the US this year, compared with 91 million males. When it comes to viewing video online, however, their positions are reversed.

Online Video Viewers as Percent of All Internet Users

Year

Male Video Viewers

Female Video Viewers

2006

71.2%

55.0%

2007

78.4

66.7

2008

85.5

75.0

2009

88.6

80.1

2010

88.7

82.2

2011

88.8

84.6

Source: eMarketer, March 2007

Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and the author of the new Women Online, says "While 78% of males watch video online, only 66% of females do…" (but) "they are less likely than males to visit most video destination sites — even the biggie, YouTube."

EMarketer asks, since "the disproportion is all the more surprising because females watch more TV than males, what do females watch online?"

Rhetorically, the report cites a study by Piper Jaffray that found that news appealed to both genders about equally, but after that men were more likely to watch amateur videos, music videos and movie previews. Women favored movie previews and then music videos.

Online Video Watched By Online Video Viewers, 2006

Video Type

% Males Viewing

% Females Viewing

News

52.3%

48.%

Amateur videos

44.0

30.4

Music videos

38.5

38.0

Movie previews

35.8

47.8

Television shows

32.1

19.6

Sports highlights

30.3

12.0

Live sporting events

12.8

2.2

Full length movies

11.9

3.3

Other

10.1

7.6

Source: Piper Jaffray & Co., February 2007

And, among female BabyCenter visitors, the most popular type of video was entertainment.

Online Video Watching by US Female Visitors to BabyCenter.com(February, 2007, % of respondents)

Video Type

% of Female Visitors Watching

Entertainment

61%

Local/World news

56

User-created

49

Instructional/educational

44

Health oriented

33

TV shows

33

Source: BabyCenter LLc, February 2007

To balance the female viewing preferences, EMarketer showed the results of an InsightExpress study for Advertising.com that shows that 48% of all US consumers are most likely to stream news clips.

Content that U.S. Adult Consumers "Likely" to Stream(January, 2007 % of respondents)

Content

% Likely to Stream

News clips

48.6%

Music videos

47.4

Movie trailers

22.6

TV shows

25.7

User-generated videos

20.5

Movies

19.9

Sports clips

11.2

Other

8.8

Source: InsightExpress, February 2007

Ms. Williamson concludes that "Getting the female audience engaged is crucial for the success of online video…"

Please visit EMarketer here for the complete article.

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