Streaming videos are more popular than ever

That is me I suppose, but it's also the view of the world according to the latest edition of the twice-yearly run-down of advertising trends as researched and compiled by advertising.com. The statistics show viewing trends such as who is watching what, when, how old are they, how many are doing it and where?

This year's figures don't hold any big surprises; viewership has risen slightly year-on-year from 2006, with nearly 85 per cent of online video consumers claiming that they have watched about the same amount of video via the Web so far this year as they did in 2006.

However, study goes on to show that “36 per cent of consumers have increased their consumption of online video, with an even breakdown between men (36 per cent) and women (37 per cent).”

This indicates a shift  – both in terms of age and gender – from the results of earlier studies. Today, some 69 per cent of men and women over the age of 35 now watch film online, whilst just 31 per cent of 18 to 34 year olds do the same. That's a major change. Only a couple of years ago young early-adopters ruled the world of streaming video. However, the 18 to 34 year olds still dominate when it comes to “assimilating streaming content into their everyday media consumption habits.”

Another interesting finding is that the older online audience of 35 and up mostly watch video news, and even though few will admit it except under guarantee of anonymity, they are also the major consumers of pornography.