The FINANCIAL — Online video viewership has increased steadily in the US in the past several years, and eMarketer’s forecasts call for continued growth through at least 2014.
As that audience grows, more and more viewers are watching not just short user-generated clips but also full-length professional content such as TV shows and movies.
“This shift is the result of a confluence of factors, including the greater availability of long-form content, the popularity of venues such as Hulu and broadcast TV sites, technology developments and internet users’ growing comfort with online video,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report “Video Content and Syndication: Long-Form Content on the Rise.”
By 2014, the number of US online video viewers will represent 77% of internet users, according to eMarketer’s forecasts.
To date, ad support has fueled most video content on the web, and video advertising is expected to continue on a strong growth trajectory. Nevertheless, content owners and syndicators such as Hulu are beginning to supplement their ad-supported programming with subscription plans and other transactional services. UBS estimated that 77% of US online video revenues would come from paid content in 2012, compared with 23% from ad-supported media.
“The key to paid monetization for content owners will be offering enough value to convert skeptical consumers,” said Verna.
Whatever forms the video monetization experiments take, US online video advertising spending will continue to grow. eMarketer expects US spending of $5.5 billion in 2014, up from $1.5 billion in 2010. By 2014, video will make up 15.2% of total online advertising spending, up from 6% in 2010.
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