May 5, 2007

According to a new study performed by Knowledge Networks, a larger number of Internet users of streaming audio and video spend an increasing amount of time online than the average Internet user.

Overall, about 41.2 percent of teenagers stream media every week. Usage also skews male among adult streamers.

Knowledge Networks' research compared streamers with all past-month Internet users. On average, streamers of all ages had greater Web usage than non-streamers. Adult streamers ages 35 to 64 spent 67 percent more time on the Internet than non-streamers.

"Streaming online media are clearly associated with a greater reliance on the Internet for entertainment and information, which leads to more time devoted to the medium. The fact that streamies often belong to such desirable ad targets as teens and young adults suggests the value of a sophisticated marketing approach in this medium," according to Robert DeFelice of Knowledge Networks.

Overall, online video viewers are not necessarily a better audience for marketers than those who do not watch online video.

"It would seem safe to assume that people who spend more time online are also more likely to view online video, and are therefore potentially more available for online marketing," said eMarketer Senior Analyst David Hallerman.

Hallerman added "however, with the increasing availability of video on the Internet, it's unclear to what extent the mere act of watching video correlates with higher Internet usage." He pointed to an AP/AOL study to underscore the fact.

The study stated that average weekly Internet usage in the U.S., excluding eMail, is 11.1 hours. Some 21 percent of the online video audience spends more than 15 hours, about 49 percent spends five hours or less, and about 29 percent spends between six and fifteen hours per week online.

Overall, most of the research on the Internet video audience tends to confuse the distinct activities of downloading and streaming video.

When surveyed, many Internet users appear not to differentiate downloading from streaming. It's pretty much all the same for most of these consumers.

Source: eMarketer