Americans have not abandoned their televisions, but some are moving their viewing to a different screen.
About 16% of US Internet households watch TV broadcasts online, according to The Conference Board and TNS. Respondents said that TV on the Internet had replaced news programs as their most widely viewed online content.
“Although online TV
viewing is still not a widespread phenomenon, the proportion of users has increased since 2006 and is likely to increase over time, given consumers’ love for entertainment,” said Lynn Franco, director of consumer research at The Conference Board, in a statement.
Consumers who watched TV online said it was convenient and helped them avoid commercials.
Online video of all types is unlikely to bite into US TV viewing time, according to Paul Verna, senior analyst at eMarketer.
"Rather than a wholesale shift in viewership from TV to the new-media
channels, both media will actually grow in the next several years," Mr. Verna said. "Internet video will entrench itself in the content mainstream, right
alongside TV, albeit not in such pervasive numbers."
According to eMarketer projections, by 2011 there will be 200
million broadband Internet users. Of them, 183 million, or 91%, will
watch online videos.
As eMarketer mentioned in February, NBC's "Rewind" online video player complements consumer TV viewing instead of substituting for it.
For marketers, online video and TV viewing can be even more complementary.
A March 2007 comScore analysis of TV and online video viewing habits
concluded that the Internet’s primetime block occurs between 5 p.m.
and 8 p.m. on weekdays. This segues neatly into the standard TV
primetime schedule of 8 p.m. to 11 p.m., offering marketers an opportunity
to tailor their messages accordingly.
“Marketers have a great opportunity to leverage Internet video in
conjunction with their traditional TV buy and essentially double their 'primetime' commercial airing hours,” said Erin Hunter, executive vice
president of media and entertainment solutions at comScore, in a statement.
Not all online video is a hit. Learn what types of content viewers prefer. Please
read eMarketer's Online Video: Making Content Pay report.