A new study by Jupiter Research, commissioned by Akamai Technologies, reports that more than half of all viewers of online video will quickly switch to a competing video site when poor quality video performance is encountered.
“Today’s consumers demand immediate start-up times, 100% availability, and an experience that is constant over time. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to meet those expectations when delivering content from a centralized server.” Mark Larkin, Executive Producer, CNET TV.
The report states that online videos which interrupt to buffer or are slow to load account for the greatest sources of audience frustration. 60% of frequent online video viewers who watch videos more than once per week are unlikely to return to a video content site after a poor quality experience. 25% said they would never return.
More than a quarter of those viewers stated that they are interested in bandwidth-intensive video content such as TV programs or full-length feature films.
At the same time, 42% of viewers said that they prefer to watch their television sets which provide a far better viewing experience than their PC screens, and avoid online video in its entirety which represents a huge amount of revenue slipping away.
Jupiter Research conducted the study in February 2007 as a survey to a total of 2,319 online consumers which were selected randomly from the Ipsos US online consumer panel.
[Via Business Wire]
