• by July 18, 2007

Viewing of Internet video was the focus of two reports released Tuesday.

comScore's Video Metrix report for May said that nearly 75% of U.S. Internet users watched an average of 158 minutes of online video during the month. They viewed more than 8.3 billion video streams, and Google Sites, thanks to YouTube, repeated as the top streaming property, with 21.5% of the total and 1.8 billion streams (1.7 billion from YouTube). Fox Interactive Media ranked second with 680 million streams (8.1%), followed by Yahoo Sites with 387 million (4.6%).

The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), meanwhile, released the results of a six-month comprehensive Nielsen study, "A Barometer of Broadband Content and Its Users." The study, commissioned by CTAM, was conducted by both Nielsen Entertainment and NielsenConnect, and using analysis of data from across the research company--including the Nielsen//NetRatings MegaPanel and NetViews services, interviews in the Nielsen Entertainment digital lab, and a "fusion" of quantitative online survey data with television viewing data from Nielsen Media Research's National People Meter sample.

The main conclusion: although viewing of online video had reached 63% of U.S. Internet viewers by the study's end in March, the trend had little impact on traditional TV viewing.

The results included:

Online video added to overall video viewing more frequently than it replaced traditional television viewing in the home, representing a net audience gain to total television viewing: 33% said watching broadband video increased their television viewing time, while only 13% said it decreased their traditional viewing.

Some 32 million lighter broadband video users (out of 81 million total) said they were open to more TV programs via the Internet. Furthermore, CTAM and Nielsen said, consumers indicated that greater awareness of where to find the videos they're seeking, better navigation interfaces, and the increased availability of more high-profile programs online could significantly drive future broadband video content use.

Widespread consumer use of broadband video was found likely to be contingent on the content becoming more easily accessible via home television sets. At that point, consumers said that Internet video fare could become another source for content on demand.

Broadband video dominated "top brands," with ABC.com the leader in broadband viewer visits to TV network Web sites, and Yahoo Movies leading in the movies category.

ABC.com ranked seventh in comScore's list of top U.S. streaming video properties in May, behind such other TV-related properties as Fox at #2, Viacom at #4, and Time Warner at #5. Sister Disney-owned properties Disney and ESPN ranked #8 and #9, with NBC Universal in 10th place.