Online video will only truly take off when media, TV, and cable companies embrace it as an alternative to traditional TV. But for that to happen, there has to be a profit in it for them. Can Web television ever compete with traditional TV in the revenue department?
Online Video Advertising
Online video is forever increasing in popularity with viewers, and the TV companies are starting to realize there’s a need for a cross-platform strategy, with the days when the television was enough well and truly over.
But to truly grow, and more importantly be able to compete with the television set in our living rooms, advertising rates, both in terms of quantity and the monetary value, are going to have to increase.
Video Advertising Results
recently published a detailed look at online video advertising spending results along with projections of how growth will occur over the next four years. The results show how small a share of total Internet advertising money goes in to Web Video.
Even more startling is how little is spent on online video advertising compared to television advertising spending. Online video accounts for 4.3 percent of total online ad spending and just 1.6 percent of television ad spending.
Projecting Growth
Growth is already occurring, with online video ad spending increasing from making up just 1.5 percent of total Internet ad spending in 2007 to 4.3 percent in 2009. That kind of growth should continue or even accelerate over the next four years until it reaches 11 percent in 2013.
A similar growth compared to TV ad spending is also forecast. Having already risen from 0.5 percent in 2007 to 1.6 percent this year, 2013 could see it hit around the 5.5 percent mark.
Which is better but still not exactly an exciting prospect for companies looking to forge ahead with plans for Web TV offerings. If they have to choose they’ll clearly still choose traditional television until the figures start equaling out.
The Good News?
The slightly better news is that online video advertisers spend more per hour than they do when advertising on television – $0.17 per hour compared to $0.13 per hour. Unfortunately, eMarketer expect those figures to move closer together next year and beyond.
Conclusions
In answer to the question in the title of this article I’d have to conclude it will either never happen or it’ll take a very long time. And that’s probably because the average Internet user is a different animal than the average couch potato who watches hours of TV every day.
Online video is currently seen as a free alternative for people, and they don’t want to watch adverts or pay a subscription to watch TV on their computers. The key then could be turning online video into a living room style pastime. Only then will the viewing figures swell and the advertising dollars with them.
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