• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, February 15, 2008

Heavy Web video viewers favor niche sites while moderate ones tune into network television outposts online, according to a new study from comScore and Media Contacts, the interactive media arm of Havas Media.

Light video viewers--who watch only six minutes per month and constitute half the online video audience--are bigger traditional TV fans, with 46% watching 13 hours a week or more. Only 30% of heavy Web video viewers (846 minutes per month) watched the same amount of TV. That finding undercuts the widely held view that the most avid digital media users are the biggest media consumers in general.

Top sites among heavy video users, who make up 20% of the video audience, included Ouou.com, MegaVideo.com, Youku.com, zSHARE and Tudou.com. Three are Asian-based sites and one is a file-sharing hub.

Moderate video viewers (77 minutes per month), by contrast, flock to the TV networks' online outlets, including those of ABC WorldNow and ABC Daytime, CBS local TV and cable network CMT.

YouTube was the top video destination across all three audience segments--heavy, moderate and light--reaching more than half of all viewers. As TV networks push more programming online, however, the big differences in viewership among the groups will begin to recede.

"With the new wave of content coming online, the gaps among viewers are going to close and you'll see a more mainstream effect," said Jarvis Mak, U.S. director of research and insights at Media Contacts.

Using the comScore audience data, the agency identified four key types of Web video watchers to help guide media planning efforts: These categories include:

• Content Explorers: These are viewers 35 to 54 who are platform-agnostic and as willing to watch reality shows, daytime soaps and news programs online as on TV. They tend to have household incomes of more than $100,000.
• On Demanders: More likely to be heavy video users, with three-quarters using a DVR and/or a video-on-demand service. These 18- to-34-year-olds are also the most likely to have watched full-length videos online.
• Sight & Sounders: The 55-and-over crowd makes up about one-third of the online video audience, but much prefers TV. That may change over time as high-quality video comes online in more user-friendly form.
• Television Devotees: This group skews more heavily toward women, and would rather watch their favorite shows on TV but will turn to network Web sites to catch up on missed episodes.

While viewers often head directly to TV network sites to find shows online, that's starting to change as more programming is syndicated across video hubs such as Hulu and Veoh. How the various audience segments choose to access online video in this emerging landscape is something advertisers and programmers will have to watch closely, Mak said.