Numbers for online video usage rose in February and that's without counting the launch of Hulu and itunes. Wow! There is an insatiable desire for online viewing, and more is coming. But is this a false high, and the numbers will settle down once the newness goes away, or is this the inevitable direction for all video usage? The vast majority of those views are from You Tube. It will be interesting to see where Hulu emerges on the list in next momths report. I have found Hulu to be a very satisfying viewing experience for professional content, where You Tube offers more viral content.
As noted in the article, "consumers may have more options for watching TV shows on demand and for watching content on TVs that's currently online-only." I have found that first hand. I recently put our Tivo on a wireless network and used it to download video from Channel Frederator. While I enjoyed the experience, I didn't season pass it; I'll continue to watch those shows on my computer, and leave my Tivo for longer form content.
To me, the end game is not the length of the content, but where and when I choose to watch it. I want the flexibility to watch it on my terms. And for me, the small screen is ideal for short form content, the big screen for long form.
Assume an average of about 2 min per stream....thats roughly 300MM hours in a month. TV viewership at a 40% PUT is about 80MM people x 3 hours/night =240MM hours in an EVENING. even if you quadruple the minutes per stream, thats still more viewing in one TV daypart in a week than online in a month
ReplyDeleteno one disagrees that the online / nonlinear video is going to be a growth business. but in terms of sheer volume of consumer usage, TV is the daddy.
The big challenge is that TV does not provide the targeting capability that the web and other interactive services can...
At some point in the near future, it will all become the same thing; whether the content comes from the internet or broadcast, the delivery will be invisible to the viewer. A channel will be defined as simply a place for content, whether delivered linear or VOD, as a channel number on the cable box or as a web address. And it will all be measured by the same demo and psychographics.
ReplyDelete