After some time of analyzing the figures for long-form video online, it's found that it isn't taking away from regular TV viewing, but slowly adding to it.
What consumers are doing is using the Internet as a DVR to catch up on shows they miss.
The good news is 83 percent of those starting to watch long-form online video also finish the program. Advertisers also love it, as embedded ads are being viewed at a high rate.
NBC Universal Chief Digital Officer George Kliavkoff said, “When they sit through the full episode they retain the advertising that’s in it, because it’s sort of a half lean back, half lean forward thing.”
Some are concluding that these statistics countradict the idea that the Internet is a short-form video medium. I don't think that's true.
For those using the Internet as a DVR to watch shows they miss, obviously they would be acting in a similar way those using a conventional DVR would. The mentality is they missed a show and so are going to use their Internet DVR to view it. That doesn't take away from the overall idea that the vast majority of those surfing the Internet want to watch snippets of video rather than longer pieces.
Even in the future I don't think someone's going to say something like "What should I do, watch TV on a regular TV or the Internet?" It's not going to happen that way. The Internet is a secondary source for doing the same thing a DVR does, as far as long-form video goes.
The real thing that would make this more of a reality would be if long-form video created specifically to play on the Internet, were to be consumed at the same pace as those watching missed TV programs. Then you could say consumers didn't care either way if it was watched on a television set, computer or portable device in long form.
Using the Internet as a storage device for TV shows being missed doesn't make long-form video a strong draw for consumers. It simply means it's the DVR of choice they decide to use.
People that consume made-for-the-Web video, will continue to prefer it in chunks and bits, rather than as whole meals.
The ones that probably are getting a little nervous about this are those selling DVRs. For now they won't have to worry because only a small portion of content is being put online at this time. But a year or so from now, you'll probably see so much broadcast content online, that it'll seriously cut into DVR sales.
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