Nielsen Online announced that YouTube continued to rank as the number one video site with 5.5 billion total streams in April. Meanwhile, Hulu continued its explosive growth, increasing 490 percent in total streams year-over-year, from 63.2 million in April 2008 to 373.3 million in April 2009.
"Historically short form, clip-length video has ruled streaming on the Web -- as demonstrated by YouTube's top spot month after month. Hulu, along with pure-play providers like Veoh and the TV networks, have spent the past two years trying to convince consumers that the Internet can be a good place to watch full length programming as well. April's strong showings of Hulu, Fox, and ABC suggest that consumers are beginning to listen," said Jon Gibs, vice president at Nielsen Online.
In April 2009, people between the ages of 35 and 49 were the fastest growing demographic in time spent viewing per viewer, increasing 29 percent during the past six months. This was 13 percentage points higher than the growth of time spent viewing per viewer for the overall market, which increased 16 percent over the same 6-month period.
Despite what many believe, it is not the young, tech-savvy, early-adopters who are attracted to long-form video. In fact, it's the older crowd, viewers 35+, who gravitate toward long-form video, with sites like Hulu acting as a perfect example of this.
And advertisers are paying attention. They see long-form video sites like Hulu as a safe bet for online advertising, recognizing that their key audiences are there and more willing to sit through an online advertisement while watching a favorite show, much as they do with the TV.
In April 2009, three of the top five sites -- Hulu, ABC.com and NBC.com -- ranked by time spent viewing among people 35 to 49 were sites with long-form video. Compared to six months ago, only one of the top five was a long-form video viewing destination.
Since its inception Hulu has experienced meteoric growth in all aspects of video viewing, especially in time spent. Total time spent viewing increased 119 percent between November 2008 and April 2009.
As more people frequent Hulu and stream more videos, more time is also spent watching these videos. Time spent viewing per viewer increased 120 percent, from 147 minutes in November 2008 to 325 minutes in April 2009.
Hulu unique viewers between 35 and 49, in April 2009, represented 30 percent of total Hulu viewers. They also spent more time than any other age group, with an average of 416 minutes per viewer during the month -- 10 percent more than any other demographic group on Hulu.
During the past six months, time spent per viewer for the 35 to 49 demographic group has increased 154 percent.
"Historically short form, clip-length video has ruled streaming on the Web -- as demonstrated by YouTube's top spot month after month. Hulu, along with pure-play providers like Veoh and the TV networks, have spent the past two years trying to convince consumers that the Internet can be a good place to watch full length programming as well. April's strong showings of Hulu, Fox, and ABC suggest that consumers are beginning to listen," said Jon Gibs, vice president at Nielsen Online.
In April 2009, people between the ages of 35 and 49 were the fastest growing demographic in time spent viewing per viewer, increasing 29 percent during the past six months. This was 13 percentage points higher than the growth of time spent viewing per viewer for the overall market, which increased 16 percent over the same 6-month period.
Despite what many believe, it is not the young, tech-savvy, early-adopters who are attracted to long-form video. In fact, it's the older crowd, viewers 35+, who gravitate toward long-form video, with sites like Hulu acting as a perfect example of this.
And advertisers are paying attention. They see long-form video sites like Hulu as a safe bet for online advertising, recognizing that their key audiences are there and more willing to sit through an online advertisement while watching a favorite show, much as they do with the TV.
In April 2009, three of the top five sites -- Hulu, ABC.com and NBC.com -- ranked by time spent viewing among people 35 to 49 were sites with long-form video. Compared to six months ago, only one of the top five was a long-form video viewing destination.
Since its inception Hulu has experienced meteoric growth in all aspects of video viewing, especially in time spent. Total time spent viewing increased 119 percent between November 2008 and April 2009.
As more people frequent Hulu and stream more videos, more time is also spent watching these videos. Time spent viewing per viewer increased 120 percent, from 147 minutes in November 2008 to 325 minutes in April 2009.
Hulu unique viewers between 35 and 49, in April 2009, represented 30 percent of total Hulu viewers. They also spent more time than any other age group, with an average of 416 minutes per viewer during the month -- 10 percent more than any other demographic group on Hulu.
During the past six months, time spent per viewer for the 35 to 49 demographic group has increased 154 percent.