• BBC News, Friday, January 11, 2008 10:45 AM

Online video sites have more than doubled their traffic since the Hollywood writers strike began at the end of October, according to Nielson Online. With so many popular TV programs off the air, U.S. consumers have sought out alternatives like YouTube, whose traffic has spiked 18 percent in the last two months.

Newer video sites have also found success. Startup Crackle said its audience doubled from 1.2 million at the end of October to 2.4 million in November and December. "That is greater growth than you would normally see in such a short period, and the strike could be a possible factor," said Nielsen analyst Alex Burmaster.

A Pew Internet & American Life study found that nearly half of U.S. Web users visited a video-sharing site in 2007. On any given day, 15 percent of Web users were either uploading or downloading video. The Pew Internet Project said the spread of broadband connections and the increased use of video on Web sites were factors in the huge growth in 2007. Predictably, the young have been driving that growth, as 70 percent of people under 30 said they use video sites.

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