Online video cuts into TV audiences

A survey by ICM has revealed that many internet users who watch online video cut back on regular TV viewing as a result.

The survey of over 2,000 Britons showed that 43 per cent of those who watched online video services like YouTube and Google Video said that they had cut back on their television viewing, with 20 per cent of those cutting down a lot. Use of such sites is also on the rise, with three quarters of those questioned saying they were viewing more online video than last year.

The figures support details from Ofcom earlier in the year, which found that nearly three per cent of young people were watching less television now than they were in 2003.

Unsurprisingly, online video services are most popular with the young, with 28 per cent of 16-24 year olds watching at least once a week. For the 25-44 age brackets this dropped to 10 per cent, and just four per cent of over 45s were regular viewers.

However, the overall popularity of online video sites is not too much of a threat yet to traditional broadcasters, as two-thirds of those surveyed had never used online video sites and had no intention of doing so in the next year.