The number of US online video viewers has risen steadily for the past few years and is expected to continue climbing in moderate increments through 2014. eMarketer estimates that growth will slow from between 8% and 9% a year from 2010 through 2012 to about 5.2% in 2014, when 77% of US Internet users will be watching online video content at least monthly.
One factor behind the turn toward long-form content is the success of Hulu, which The Nielsen Company ranked second to YouTube in overall video streams viewed in April 2010. In addition, the increase in Internet-enabled TV sets and other viewing devices supports the trend.
The highest penetration of online video viewing is among 18- to 24-year-olds, with 25- to 34-year-olds and teens not far behind. By the middle of this decade, those age groups will be at saturation points of above 90% penetration. Not only do these demographics watch online video in massive numbers, but they are also the most receptive to TV content online.
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