Online Video Becoming A Habit

Viewing video online is becoming a habit in the United States, particularly among young adults. And the rest of the nation isn't far behind.

Daily video viewing increased by 56% between 2006 and 2007, rising from 9% to 14% among Internet-using Americans between the ages of 12 and 64, according to a report released this week from media consultancy Frank N. Magid Associates.

Weekly usage of online video has also increased, according to the report, though at a less impressive growth rate of 18%. In 2006, 44% of Internet-using Americans viewed online videos at least once a week. This year, that number reached 52%.

It's the young -- particularly young men -- who have taken to online video the fastest. Among men between the ages of 18 and 24, 35% say they watch online video daily, and 80% do so at least once a week. Some 53% of women in the same age group report viewing online videos at least once a week.

The types of content watched regularly by the online video viewers include news (35%), jokes/bloopers (31%), movie previews (31%), weather (31%), music videos (29%), consumer-generated videos (27%), TV show clips (23%), sports (18%), video-game content (18%), and videos produced exclusively for the Web (16%).

The popularity of online video was confirmed in another report out this week. Broadband service vendor Ellacoya Networks said that Web traffic now accounts for 46% of Internet traffic, overtaking peer-to-peer traffic as the largest percentage of network bandwidth. And of that 46%, video-sharing site YouTube alone accounts for a fifth.