December 1, 2008
A few weeks ago, IBM released a report showing 36% of people watched significantly less TV as a result of their online video viewing. Their study was based on 2,800 people polled across six countries.
A more recent report from Nielsen, however, reveals the opposite: TV viewership is not declining, but is in fact at peak levels. "The new report from the media analysts at Nielsen found that video viewing across all three screens - TV, Internet, and mobile - increased from last year. As of the third quarter 2008, the average person in the U.S. watched approximately 142 hours of TV in one month. In addition, people who used the Internet were online 27 hours a month, and people who used a mobile phone spent 3 hours a month watching mobile video," summarizes Sarah Perez of ReadWriteWeb.
It is important to note that the Nielsen study polls people across the US only.
Perez goes on to emphasize that TV-networks would make a mistake in not making their videos available online. "Viewing has increased on all three screens. That means that even though TV viewing is an all-time high, both mobile viewing and online videos are seeing a surge as well," write Perez. "If anything, that should be a huge encouragement to the industry as it proves that, not only does online and mobile video not detract from TV viewing, there's an opportunity to monetize all three screens for record amounts of income too."
Comments | 4 Total
December 1, 2008 at 11:34am by Rip Empson
It doesn't seem that online video is cannibalizing TV, but according to TV Week, digital media companies, especially web video, will still be getting a lot of VC money in 2009. I think that this shows that a lot of people truly believe in online video's growth potential, it's simply a matter of figuring out how to monetize it. Web video still gets a puny amount of ad dollars compared to just about every other medium. Though ad dollars are shrinking across the board, it seems those who invest don't feel that web video is worth the money yet. But it's only a matter of time.
December 1, 2008 at 12:15pm by Thomas Lanier
I watch more television than before simply because I can watch at anytime online. No more trying to remember to record a show, I just stream it from the network website whenever I want.
December 1, 2008 at 1:13pm by Mel Blitzer
My impression is that higher tech television is in ascendancy with the proliferation of HD and especially of personal video recorders which allow for the skipping of commercials and viewing at your leisure.
The future may hold video by web as a channel for TV productions but I think actual televisions will remain the dominant portal even for web viewing. Commercial free television by subscription is a distinct possibility as technology allows commercials to be cut out of the viewing experience.
--
Mel Blitzer
December 2, 2008 at 5:22am by Phillip Cartwright