Online video is a huge presence on the Web now, so much so that it’s easy to lose sight of the changing trends occurring in the sector. Thankfully, TubeMogul is on hand to deliver research based on how people are consuming online video. And some of it is intriguing.
Google, Then Facebook?
It’s no surprise to learn that Google is top, by quite a margin, in terms of traffic referrals to video destinations included in the study. More than 50 percent of all come from Google, and that doesn’t even include YouTube, which TubeMogul hasn’t included in this research.
However, what’s more surprising is the fact that second on the list is Facebook, with 9.6 percent of all referrals coming directly from the social networking site. Facebook has leaped ahead of Yahoo!, the previous runner-up, in the last quarter.
Facebook has done amazingly well, and its ability to compete and beat the likes of Yahoo and Bing shows how social search is becoming very important. However, Google by itself beats everyone else combined.
Newspapers, Games Consoles
The full TubeMogul report includes lots of data, but apart from the Facebook result the most compelling is the news that newspapers upload more videos than broadcast, magazine, or online media properties. Though these are more likely to be short video clips, newspapers also top the number of minutes streamed.
Also gaining in this way are games consoles, with the likes of the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3 leading in terms of average viewing time. While videos viewed on current-gen consoles are watched for an average of 2:45 minutes, videos viewed on online video sites only have an average of 2:27 minutes.
Which suggests the leanback viewing experience helps prevent people from switching off. At least for an extra 20 seconds or so.
Conclusions
This research shows the state of online video, and that state is a healthy one. Facebook is gaining a foothold in the sector at an alarming rate, and newspapers are finding success by changing from old to new media.
