Study Finds Online Video Hurts TV Viewing Time

Posted on November 27, 2006

The BBC is reporting that a new ICM survey is confirming what many have suspected -- that online video watching will take time away from regular television watching.

Some 43% of Britons who watch video from the internet or on a mobile device at least once a week said they watched less normal TV as a result.

And online and mobile viewing is rising - three quarters of users said they now watched more than they did a year ago.

But online video viewers are still in the minority, with just 9% of the population saying they do it regularly.

Another 13% said they watched occasionally, while a further 10% said they expected to start in the coming year.

The study found that watching shows, videos or webisodes online was detracting from regular television watching.

In the survey, one in five people who watched online or mobile video at least once a week said they watched a lot less TV as a result. Another 23% said they watched a bit less, while just over half said their TV viewing was unchanged. Some 3% said online video inspired them to watch more TV.

It is inevitable that television watching will move to broadband or that the two will converge so none of this is a surprise. It is likely to be occuring in the U.S. as well. Since the move to broadband video is inevitable it is smart to be like CBS and become an early adapter and grab marketshare from your competitors by using online video before they do.

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