Web’s Advances Aren't TV's Loss
Researchers Say December Online Video Growth Not Necessarily WGA Strike-Related
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 2/17/2008 12:11:00 AM
During the TV writers’ strike, viewing of online video may have grown — but that didn’t necessarily mean TV-watching fell.
U.S. Internet users watched more than 10 billion videos online in December, according to researcher ComScore. That was the single heaviest month since the company started tracking online video activity in 2005.
“With the writers’ strike keeping new TV episodes from reaching the airwaves, viewers have been seeking alternatives for fresh content,” Erin Hunter, ComScore executive vice president of media and entertainment, said in a statement. “It appears that online video is stepping in to help fill that void.”
The December gain represented a 7% increase from November, according to ComScore senior analyst Andrew Lipsman.
“That’s a big one-month jump,” he said.
But Brad Adgate, Horizon Media senior vice president and director of research, and Jack Wakshlag, chief research officer for Turner Broadcasting System, questioned whether the strike could be linked with the 10 billion online-video views.
“The trend was heading that way anyway,” Adgate said. “But did the writers’ strike aid it, and how much did it aid it, I don’t know.”
That increased growth in online-video viewing doesn’t mean people watched less TV during the strike, according to Wakshlag. He said viewers turned to cable networks, from broadcast.
TV season to date through Jan. 20, on average people watched 34 hours per week, a half-hour more, or 1% increase, from the year-ago period, according to Nielsen data.
“Despite the strike, there is no evidence that people have turned away from television,” Wakshlag said. “If they’re watching more Internet, it’s not because they’re watching less television. They’re just not watching broadcast.”
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