Comments on: When do people watch Online Video ?

By: Ingrid

Ingrid — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 15:56:21 +0000

I am one consumer who loves streaming video over the Internet as an alternative to watching network TV…I can\’t wait for other networks to follow ABC\’s lead in broadcasting primetime shows over their websites. The problem is when I would try to watch streaming video during peak evening hours (7-9PM), the streams freeze, literally every time I have Comcast high speed Internet). So, is the broadband infrastructure in place today robust enough to handle 50%? A contact at TiVo told me the infrastructure today is not adequate to handle it. Is this true? But that\’s not the main reason why most consumers still watch T.V. during peak hours – it\’s what we do. I\’ve heard the average American spends 5 hours a day watching T.V. I bet DVRs are a bigger threat to ad revenue than is streaming video.

Anyway, I called Comcast and they\’re in no rush to add new nodes in my area (S.F.) to resolve this issue. So, if I stream that episode of Grey\’s Anatomy I missed last night, I\’ll do it during off-peak hours (nothing like McDreamy with my Sat. morning coffee!) Another solution is Apple TV, which is the beginning of bridging streaming video to my 40\” HDTV. I bought Apple TV primarily to view/show my digital photographs on my HDTV, but I am willing to pay $2 to download a show versus the inevitable freezing of the stream if I want to watch video during peak Internet evening hours.

By: Kira

Kira — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:39:30 +0000

People watch online video, because it interest and fun. When man working he get tired and wish to relax, and online video help him.

By: tdmov

tdmov — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:26:07 +0000

That would just be annoying. If they were to control the times you could watch, it would affect people who don\’t get that channel anyway. If you block out episodes of House while the newest episode of House is on, what\’s gained? Even the people who have the choice between tv and free streaming would still go to the tv, because the newest episode wouldn\’t be online. Not being able to watch FOX on the internet at a given time is not likely to make me go over to the tv and watch NBC at that moment. FOX is better off keeping me at their website than sitting in limbo. I don\’t think controlling time would be as helpful to them as you think.

By: evden eve nakliyat

evden eve nakliyat — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 11:30:49 +0000

evden eve nakliyat

By: D. from Weston, MA

D. from Weston, MA — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 16:25:34 +0000

Very interesting statistics, personally I have recently abandoned all broadcast TV and replaced it with internet-based video only.

By: Dave

Dave — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 12:03:29 +0000

I\’m with Matt and Tom who posted earlier…the numbers don\’t seem impressive to me. Maybe it\’s just because we don\’t have the entire set of numbers in front of us…but this is what doesn\’t add up to me:

63% of viewing occurs during waking hours, Monday through Friday (37% + 14% + 12%). Put another way…63% of viewing occurs during 71.4% of our weekly waking hours. The other 37% occurs during the other 28.6% of our waking hours (time most spend on stuff largely away from computers…shopping, errands, yard-work, family time, going out to eat, etc.) plus our general sleeping hours.

This isn\’t overly impressive, even when taking into account a certain percentage of the population that lives non-standard hours. It feels like we\’re missing a key part of the data. If anything it tells me that internet video is a \”whenever, wherever\” medium and not a \”destination\” medium.

I\’d be interested in seeing when during the week internet video has its largest viewership. Monday when people are still trying to leave the weekend behind and get into the flow of the week? Or Friday when they\’re trying to kill time before starting their weekend?

By: Garrett

Garrett — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 23:14:06 +0000

I am addicted to YouTube. I bought a 42 inch LCD about a month ago…the HD is awesome and I can\’t wait for the NBA playoffs…but I watch youtube and check websites (equitygreen.com)more than I watch my brand new TV right now…it is crazy. Keep it real Mark!

By: tom

tom — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 08:57:15 +0000

Hey Mark.
Are we factoring in the kids that come home from school and watch videos? I mean, it seems that the time that kids would engage in online video-watching the most would be from 2:30-5, when their parents aren\’t home, especially if there is only one computer in the house.
Also, college students also probably represent a large portion of online video-watchers, regardless of the hours, especially with \”viral videos\” (the videos that get spread around by e-mails and integrate themselves quickly into pop culture), for which ther are a growing number of college courses designed to teach. These also don\’t violate copyright laws due to the fact that they are often created for the purpose of that sort of spreading. .

By: Mark Spivey

Mark Spivey — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 06:37:55 +0000

I believe we will continue to see another shift in this area – the type of material viewed being more user created (say around 50 percent) and more interactivity where viewers will be responding and sharing their own work.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 05:12:12 +0000

Television networks have been incredibly slow to provide easy VOD access to their shows. Whatever the reasons, they\’ve left incredible money on the table over the past decade. At this point, the entire primetime schedules of the major networks and cablers should be easily accessible via downloads, satellite, cable and TiVo.

The partial acceptance of downloads by networks suggests they\’ve learned something from the music industry\’s pratfalls, as have the Hollywood majors.