When was the last time you watched a video on your computer or mobile device? According to the latest studies released on online video viewership, chances are you have watched one already today. The video that you watched was most likely a music video, a cat video, or a cute kid video. I’m no psychic, but I could have predicted this without reading the latest reports on online video viewership. As it turns out, I’d be right.
Advertisers and startups who have spent the last few years focusing on the online video market are about to see a huge payday. According recent reports released by comscore and Ooyala, 2012 is going to be the breakout year for online video. Here are some highlights from the reports:
Viewership
Top destinations for watching online video include:
- YouTube 152 million unique viewers
- VEVO 51.5 million
- Yahoo! Sites 49.2 million
- Viacom Digital 48.1 million
- Facebook 45.1 million
In December 2011, 43.5 billion videos were watched online, up 44% from 30.1 billion in December 2010.
Between December 2011 and January 2012, the number of videos watched went down slightly, but the length of online videos watched went up. 181 million users viewed over 40 billion videos with a length of 6.1 minutes online in January 2012. 182 million users viewed 43.5 billion videos with a length of 5.8 minutes in December 2011.
The average viewer watched 22.6 hours of online video over the course of January 2012.
Advertising
Top video ad impressions include:
- Hulu 1.4 billion
- Adap.tv with 652 million
- BrightRoll Video Network 598 million
The average online video ad was .4 minutes long, according to comScore. Video ads accounted for 0.9 percent of all minutes spent viewing video online.
Devices
19% of American adults were using a tablet device in January 2012. This is almost twice the number of adults who were using a tablet in December 2011 (10%).
Tablet viewers were found to be more engaged in video than desktop viewers. Viewers of video on tablets were 45% more likely to complete at least 75% of videos played. This is probably because tablet usage skyrockets in the evenings, when people have more leisure time to complete videos.
Video plays on tablets, mobile devices and connected TVs nearly doubled in Q4 2011 over Q3 2011.
What does this mean for the future of online video?
Companies that embrace online video for education, content distribution, and entertainment will continue to see their viewership increase as more people watch videos on tablets and mobile devices.
Online video advertising will continue to be a lucrative business now that agencies have the data to backup the online video advertising business model.
Companies like Ooyala that offer products and services around video content are set up for huge wins in the coming years as the need for video analytics and monetization solutions grow.
Now is the time to start strategizing around online video if you want to take your company to the next level. 2012 will be the breakout year for online video. Don’t let content opportunities like this pass you by, or you’ll have to spend extra time and money to catch up to your competitors.
Image sources: Ooyala Video Index 2011 Q4
Featured photo provided by pond5 — the world’s stock media marketplace.
