A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project claims that the growing adoption of broadband combined with a push by content providers to promote online video has helped to pave the way for US mainstream audiences to embrace online video viewing.
According to the report, 57% of online adults in the US have used the internet to watch or download video, and 19% do so on a typical day. Three-quarters of broadband users (74%) who enjoy high-speed connections at both home and work watch or download video online.
The report also shows how many video viewers have contributed to the viral and social nature of online video. More than half of US online video viewers (57%) share links to the video they find with others, and three in four (75%) say they receive links to watch video that others have sent to them.
Video viewers who actively exploit the participatory features of online video, such as rating content, posting feedback or uploading video, make up the motivated minority of the online video audience. Young adults are the most active participants in this realm.
eMarketer recently predicted that more than 50% of the US population – 155.2 million people – will watch video online in 2008, adding that 2007 will show the greatest year-over-year growth for online video ad spending (see Over Half Of US Population Will Watch Online Video).
Research conducted by The Nielsen Company for The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing said that an estimated 81 million people, or 63% of the 129 million people who access the internet over broadband in the US, watch broadband video at home or at work (see 81 Million People In US Watch Broadband Video).
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