Tuesday, September 05, 2006

The relentless rise of online video, part 28

Our Television 1.0 set broke a couple of days ago, after many years of faithful service. Rather than rush into replacing it, we're taking our time and considering our options, and catching a little TV progamming on the web. Personally, I am a fan of the strange and wonderful gems to be found on the Internet Archive, and my wife and kids have been catching up on unwatched DVDs, all on our laptops. Unsurprisingly, we seem to have become more discerning in our viewing, and the kids seem to enjoy the novelty factor of it. Whether this happens out of neccessity (as in our case) or choice, it seems to be happening a lot more generally, at least according to this new survey from AOL. Among other things, it finds that one third of those who have some experience with online video claim to watch more of it today than they did a year ago. What I find really interesting is the breakdown of content watched, which shows "amateur videos" (presumably this includes some p0rn) almost on a par with sports highlights and music videos. Also of note is that video podcasts have been watched by 17% of the respondents, putting user generated content on a level pegging with live sports. Also note that half of respondents said they prefer watching on the computer than on the TV.