We hear a lot about the domination of the online video space by short clips versus long. The problem with that assessment is that the long-form video really hasn't been tested online yet. That time is coming soon though.
The recent research by Ipsos Insight confirms that the vast majority of consumers have yet to download or stream TV shows or movies online. They also said that those that can convince consumers to do it will be very successful.
As of last year, only 26 percent of consumers had watched a TV show online, with only 15 percent watching a movie. At the same time, 75 percent have watched short clips of news or sports. Part of this is built into the YouTube (GOOG) model which only allows a maximum of 10 minute videos.
The good news is that 43 percent say they would be interested in downloading complete movies, and another 38 percent said the same about TV shows.
Major barriers at this time are resistance to paying for content and the thought that it is either hard or forbidden to burn downloaded video onto DVDs.
Brian Cruikshank, executive vice president of Ipsos Insight's Technology & Communications practice said, "Obviously, with more technology coming onto the market facilitating the sharing of video files between PC and TV, some of today's purchase barriers may soon begin to dissipate at some level. Yet, this also seems to illustrate the virtues inherent with streaming shorter video clips for today's video enthusiasts: easy 24/7 access to preferred content for reasonable fees or free via entirely ad-supported models."
Around 75 percent of people aged 12-24 in the U.S. have streamed video content on the Web last year. While that is true for last year, I think that this will change very quickly starting this year. The average age of those using YouTube is already at around 35, and this will reflect in next years results.
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