We’re in the midst of a technological and social evolution that’s shaping where we get our entertainment, news, information, and other resources. It’s becoming increasingly clear that broadcast television and print no longer have a lock on media distribution and consumption. On-demand, online video has enjoyed a meteoric rise becoming as commonplace as email and search on the web.
A recent report from AccuStream Research further substantiates the rise of online video. According to the report (Pro Online Video: View Analytics and Category Share), professionally produced or syndicated video views increased by 18% in 2009 to 49.1 billion.
Here’s the breakdown of viewership within professional videos:
- Internet brands (including online entertainment destinations owned by major media companies such as Comcast, CBS, Fox Broadcasting, NBC, ABC such as Fancast.com, Hulu.com and TV.com) captured 52.1% of views
- Cable and television cross-platform brands captured 33%
- Broadcast networks captured 10.3%
- Broadcast affiliates, magazines, and newspapers captured 4.5%
So, what are the implications for the small business and brand marketer? For one, people are embracing online video with adoption rates that outpace other online activities. And more specifically, the AccuStream findings imply that the quality of online videos is shifting from user-generated to professional content. As more professionally-produced video is available, online audiences become more discriminating. Consumer expectations have moved beyond the do-it-yourself viral video and poor production quality of the home movie. And the ever-thinning attention span of today’s online viewer will quickly turn away from lower quality videos.