Heavy Viewers Watch Eleven Times As Much Online Video as Moderate Viewers

comScore and Media Contacts Study Highlights Behavioral Differences Among Online Video Viewer Segments

Heavy Viewers Watch Eleven Times As Much Online Video as Moderate Viewers;
140 Times as Much as Light Viewers   

 
RESTON, VA, February 14, 2008 – comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, and Media Contacts, the global interactive media network of Havas Media, showcased the results of a proprietary study of the online video audience at a Video Symposium in New York yesterday. The research was designed to understand the consumption habits and mindsets of Internet video users as they relate to online video, TV, and advertising and content across both media. The results revealed differences  in orders of magnitude: the heaviest viewers (top 20 percent of viewers) averaged 841 minutes of online viewing per month, while moderate viewers (next 30 percent) averaged 77 minutes, and the lightest viewers (bottom 50 percent) watched just 6 minutes each.
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Time Spent Watching Online Video by Viewer Segment
October 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore/Media Contacts Custom Study


Online Video Viewer Segments             Average Minutes per Month
Heavy Viewers (Top 20%)                           841
Moderate Viewers (Next 30%)                        77
Light Viewers (Bottom 50%)                          6
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“The difference in consumption levels was astounding. The usage differences are reminiscent of the early days of the Internet,” said Jarvis Mak, VP of Research and Insight at Media Contacts. “However, the networks’ online distribution of first-run content will go a long way to bridging the gaps between heavy, moderate, and light viewers.”
 
Heavy Viewers Spend Time on Niche Video Sites
YouTube is the common thread among the heavy, moderate, and light segments – it is the top video site for all three and reaches the most overall video viewers (54 percent reach). Distinctive behavior for heavy video viewers is found by looking at the top indexing sites for this audience, revealing mostly niche video-sharing sites, each reaching less than 1 percent of the total U.S. Web population.
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Top Indexing Sites Among Heavy Viewers
October 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore/Media Contacts Custom Study

Online Video Site             Composition Index*
Ouou.com                             460
MegaVideo.com                        457
Youku.com                            449
zSHARE                               448
Tudou.com                            447
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*Composition Index = Site Reach of Heavy Video Viewer/Site Reach of Typical Video Viewer x 100; Index of 100 represents parity

Moderate Viewers Enjoy Specific Online TV Content
By contrast, moderate viewers show a high propensity to view specific video content on broadcast TV sites, including WorldNow (ABC), CBS TV Local, ABC Daytime, Scripps TV, and CMT, rather than frequenting more general video-sharing sites.
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Top Indexing Sites Among Moderate Viewers
October 2007
Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations
Source: comScore/Media Contacts Custom Study

Online Video Site           Composition Index*
ManiacWorld                        201
Glumbert                           175
WorldNow (ABC)                     173
CBS TV Local                       172
ABC Daytime                        170
Scripps TV Station Group           169
CMT                                168
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*Composition Index = Site Reach of Moderate Video Viewer/Site Reach of Typical Video Viewer x 100; Index of 100 represents parity

Light Online Video Viewers are Heavy TV Viewers
The conventional wisdom says that the heaviest users of the digital channel are likely to be the heaviest consumers of media in general. However, the study found that light online video viewers are actually heavier TV consumers, with 46 percent of this group indicating they watch more than 13 hours of TV per week. By comparison, just 39 percent of moderate video viewers and 30 percent of heavy video viewers watched the same amount of TV.
 
“To discover how best to reach and message online different kinds of video viewers, we used the comScore data to further develop proprietary segments: ‘Content Explorers,’ ‘On Demanders,’ ‘Sight & Sounders,’ and ‘ Television Devotees,’ ” Mak continued. “Capitalizing on the explosive growth of online video, especially as consumers have started exploring media and entertainment options due to the recent writers’ strike, requires a deep understanding of the viewing audience driving the demand.”