MaxxoMedia Digital Media and Entertainment Trends

The popularity of online video services has grown significantly with women and adults over age 35 in the past six months, and is helping close the age and gender gap in the online video audience in the US. Since late 2007, the percentage of female internet users ages 12+ who have streamed a video online in the past 30 days has grown from 45% to 54% – an all-time high for this demographic that is nearly equal to the percentage of men (58%) who have recently streamed video content. The percentage of adults age 35-54 who have recently streamed video online has also risen from 49% to 60% since December 2007, according to recent research from Ipsos.

Video streaming is no longer an online behavior enjoyed exclusively by young males. Instead, growth in the online video audience is now being driven by other demographic segments. It appears the prevalence of streaming video online among younger males may be approaching a ceiling today, whereas the other demographic groups are driving the audience growth here. The implication for those in the video entertainment industry is that online video – as a medium – appears to be tapping into later stage adopter segments that were perhaps reticent to embrace it even just a year ago. The data, not only illustrates the large size of today’s online video audience, but also underscores the shifting media landscape for many video entertainment consumers. Streaming video is no longer something just teens and twenty-something’s are enjoying, but rather it has become a fixture in mainstream America’s daily routines.