Web video viewers say they would be okay with viewing more ads, a study by comScore revealed this week.
Tolerating 7 Minutes of Ads Per Hour
People who view videos online say they would accept two to three more minutes of ads on top of the four minutes of commercials typically shown for every hour of programming on sites like Hulu, according to Mediaweek. (via MediaBuyerPlanner).
That compares to the 16 minutes of advertising played during a typical hour of prime time television.
Online Viewers Watch to Catch Up
As conventional wisdom has it, 38% of people who use online streaming say they do so because it has fewer ads. But by far the majority of viewers - 71% - say they use video streaming primarily because it lets them view shows they missed on television. 67% of respondents said they watch via the web because it is convenient.
The comScore study revealed that just 6% of fans of scripted, prime time viewing are online-only viewers, 65% are TV-only viewers, and 29% consume prime time scripted programming on both platforms.
Missed Opportunities
For sites like Hulu and Fancast, this means they are leaving money on the table, says Tania Yuki, director of cross media and video products at comScore. They are also possibly losing an opportunity to find new audiences by not streaming certain shows on the web.
The research comes as Hulu is mulling charging users for access to the site. This, comScore says, would run the risk of missing out on new fans of shows, because with online viewing, fans can catch up on a new series quickly. In that way, the nets gain new viewers for their series. The research seems to reconfirm what the industry has known for years, though it has struggled to know how best to make it work: that a multichannel approach is necessary to fully engage viewers.
"If you are marketing a program or just trying to reach viewers with your marketing messages, increasingly there is this interdependence between channels," Yuki says (via ClickZ). "You get so much more bang for you buck when you consider multiple channels for advertising your show rather than just putting all your eggs in one basket."
Video Viewing on the Rise
In December 2009, 178 million people (86% of the total U.S. online population) viewed video content, compared to 150 million people in December 2008, according to comScore Video Metrix data. Americans also viewed a significantly higher number of videos in 2009 compared to the prior year.
