81 million people in the US watch broadband video

An estimated 81 million people, or 63 per cent of the 129 million people who access the Internet over broadband in the US watch broadband video at home or at work, according to new research conducted by Nielsen for The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (Ctam).

This number increased from 70 million in September 2006 to 81 million in March 2007, a jump of 16 per cent in six months.


The analysis also showed that traditional home television ratings are minimally, if at all, affected by broadband video viewing over the internet, because broadband viewing was found largely to be incremental new viewing rather than a substitute for traditional television viewing.

The multi-phased study - A Barometer of Broadband Content and Its Users - provides a look at the relationship of broadband video consumption at home and at work to traditional television viewing behavior. It also presents a detailed analysis of specific television network viewing preferences among broadband video users across all key demographics.


Commissioned by Ctam and conducted by Nielsen Entertainment and NielsenConnect, the multi-faceted research effort integrates analysis from across The Nielsen Company. Findings were derived through online research based on the Nielsen/NetRatings MegaPanel and NetViews services, extensive interviews conducted in the Nielsen Entertainment digital lab, and a "fusion" of the quantitative online survey data with television viewing data from Nielsen Media Research's National People Meter sample.
Nielsen executive VP Susan Whiting says, "Nielsen was delighted to work with Ctam on this report, which reflects the value we can create by integrating data and analysis from across our company. This approach allows us to deliver new insight into our clients' customers and markets."

Key findings from the report include:

Online Video Usage Supplements Traditional Television Viewing Overall: Online video (including broadband video at work and in the home) was shown to add to overall video viewing more frequently than it replaced traditional television viewing in the home, representing a net audience gain to total television viewing.

33 per cent of those surveyed indicated that watching video over broadband internet increased their television viewing time, versus 13 percent who indicated it decreased their traditional television viewing.


Programme viewing online is high among current broadband video users: An additional 32 million lighter broadband video users report being open to more TV programmes via the internet. Further, consumers indicate that greater awareness of where to find the videos they are seeking, better navigation interfaces and increased availability of more high-profile television programs online could significantly drive future broadband video content use over the long-term.

TV Set Access is the Tipping Point for Widespread Broadband Video Use: Based on respondent feedback, widespread consumer use of broadband video seems to be contingent on internet platform video content becoming more easily accessible via home television sets. At that point, consumers say, internet video fare could assume its place as another source for content on demand.


ABC.com was the leader across all broadband viewer visits to television network Web sites, while Yahoo Movies was the leader in the movies category.

Ctam president, CEO Char Beales says, "The growing popularity of broadband video programming makes it vital to better understand its true impact on the viewership of and engagement with television. This research provides an unprecedented look at how consumers are making television viewing decisions as well as which consumers are more likely to embrace broadband content in the future."

Nielsen chief research officer Paul Donato says, "Linking television viewing data with Internet usage behavior goes far beyond what traditional survey-based research methods can offer to help content providers best manage the growth of television and broadband video platforms.

"The fusion of these discrete Nielsen data sets into a single, unified analysis provides the most complete benchmark of broadband content viewing behavior to date."

Source-Indiantelevison.com