Popularity Of Online Video Leading To Less Time With Traditional TV
In the UK, watching video online and on mobile devices is growing in popularity, with these people spending less time watching television in the traditional way, according to an ICM survey for the BBC.
More than 2,000 people were questioned about their viewing habits, with 43% of British people who watch video from the internet or on a mobile device at least once a week saying they watched less normal TV as a result.
Three quarters of users of online and mobile TV said they now watched more on these platforms than they did a year ago. However, online video viewers are still in the minority, with just 9% of the population saying they do it regularly.
Another 13% said they watched occasionally, while a further 10% said they expected to start in the coming year. But two-thirds of the population said they did not watch online and could not envisage starting in the next 12 months.
The success of sites such as YouTube, which was bought by online behemoth Google last month (see Google Buys YouTube), has helped to raise public awareness of the online video medium.
In recently released research, Nielsen//NetRatings said that during 2006 YouTube’s audience had grown 606%, whilst in the same period Google’s has grown 3% and Google Video’s has grown 54% (see Google Continues Negotiations To Buy YouTube).
In the BBC’s survey, one in five people who watched online or mobile video at least once a week said they watched a lot less TV as a result. Another 23% said they watched a bit less, while just over half said their TV viewing was unchanged. Some 3% said online video inspired them to watch more TV.
Online and mobile video is far more popular among the young, with 28% of those aged 16-24 saying they watched more than once each week. An average of 10% aged 25-44 were net video regulars, with that figure falling to just 4% of over-45s.
The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are all planning to offer most of their shows on-demand on the internet from the end of this year or the start of 2007 (see Channel 4 To Launch On-Demand Service).
BBC: 020 8743 8000 www.bbc.co.uk