Despite the fact that watching content on TV is still popular, more users are heading online to watch video content.
Online video viewership reached a whopping 119 million users in July 2008, with 8.5 billion total video streams, and each user watching an average of 3 hours of content, Nielsen Online research indicates.
Indeed, more content providers now offer previous episodes of hit TV shows and movies online for free with brief video and text commercials.
ABI Research revealed the number of U.S. consumers who watched videos shown through a Web browser grew from 32 percent up to 63 percent between Sept. 2007 and Sept. 2008.
A major problem that one faced online video, was how companies would monetize the content, as it was unknown if users would be willing to put up with short video advertisements. Online video services such as Hulu.com offer 30-second advertising clips -- which cannot be fast forwarded or skipped -- and viewers have been okay with it.
Why is online video becoming more relevant?
The first reason has to be the ease of use, as viewers can go online and see the content they want to see at any time. It's nice to have a DVR ready to record TV content, but online content is available at any time, whenever you're ready to watch it.
Another reason is the ability to connect with peers and discuss the viewed content using social media -- the most popular way is to use a comments or forum section underneath the video. The power of social media is still in its infancy, and companies and content providers are beginning to tap into its overall power -- NBC, ABC, and other stations also have comment sections for news articles and videos published on their sites.
In addition to watching content on the PC alone, more users are beginning to connect their PC or notebook to their TV. Ten years ago, the average PC user likely wouldn't have been able to connect their PC to a TV easily, but technology has evolved and it's becoming easier to do so.
The article further discusses the following topics: reimagining advertising, scrambling for influence, new powerhouses, and what lies ahead for video content in 2009.
