According to the recently released ChoiceStream 2007 Survey of Viewer Trends in TV & Online Video, 55% of US TV viewers watch some type of video on their computers, mobile devices or digital media players.
It added that 66% of these consumers are watching at least one hour per week through these alternatives. Video-watching on alternative devices is more popular among younger viewers (66%) than older viewers (36%).
In addition, the survey found that 65% of consumers who watch video on their computers, mobile devices or digital media players are watching professionally-produced TV programming, including network- and cable-produced shows, news and sports.
This number exceeds the 39% of consumers watching user-generated video by 67% and is expected to increase over the next six months as traditional TV viewers begin to shift their viewing behaviour towards other devices.
Many television viewers (65%) do not use a digital video recorder. However, many of those viewers with such devices are still watching television advertisements, with 23% of people reporting they sometimes or always watch the commercials.
The reasons vary widely for watching advertisements, and include: they found the commercials educational (36%); they found the commercials entertaining (34%); and they found it too hard to fast forward (19%).
Survey respondents consisted of US adult residents distributed across four age categories. 90% of respondents made at least one online purchase within the past six months. 48% of those surveyed were male, and 52% female.
A recent industry report from Understanding & Solutions forecast that by 2011, the online video market will have a retail value of $3.8 billion worldwide (see Online Video Market To Grow).
The entertainment analyst said that despite a raft of activity within the sector – ranging from new service launches, key content partnerships and continued experimentation with business models – online video has, to date, taken off much slower than the industry anticipated.
Meanwhile, a study from the Nielsen Company found that younger adult viewers are two-and-a-half times more likely than older viewers to be technologically proactive in catching up on television shows they missed (see Younger Viewers Work Harder To Catch Up On TV).
The same study reported that more than half of older viewers will do nothing or wait for reruns if they miss an episode.
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