Online Video Draws More Female Viewers

Online video is attracting a growing audience, with 1 in 5 or more American adults watching a TV show online (28%), amateur content (31%), or original digital video (22%) on at least a monthly basis, per results from an IAB study conducted by GfK. The study indicates that the share of Americans aged 18-64 watching TV content online and original digital video on a monthly basis has grown from last year’s study; an analysis of the demographic profiles of these audiences also indicates that they skew less male.

(“TV Online” refers to network TV shows online; “Amateur” refers to amateur, user-generated video; and “Original Digital Video” refers to professionally produced video only for online distribution and viewing. All data presented refers to viewers watching each type of content on at least a monthly basis.)

This year:

• 48% of TV online viewers are female, up from 45% last year;
• 47% of amateur video viewers are female, up from 44% last year; and
• 46% of original digital video viewers are female, up from 40% last year.

While the average (mean) age of a TV online viewer has aged from 36.1 to 38.1, the comparable figures for amateur video viewers (38.6) and original digital video viewers (39) remain steady.

Also changing from last year: the percentage of viewers with kids in the household. This year, that figure ranges from 41-43% across the video types, up from 36-38% last year.

Not surprisingly, the percentage of video viewers who own smartphones and tablets has grown significantly. Concurrently, the share of original digital video viewers using mobile devices to view that content has jumped by a sizable amount. This year, while laptops and desktops remain the most-used devices for streaming original digital video, almost half are using smartphones (46%) and tablets (41%) to watch, up from 26% and 23%, respectively, last year.

That doesn’t mean they’re watching on-the-go, though: 87% of original digital video viewers typically watch at home, and 65% say they only ever watch at home.

Word-of-mouth is the top way by which the original digital video audience learns about new content, with 51% saying they discover content through friends, relatives, and word-of-mouth. Not far behind, though, 41% say they find new content through social media sites, a big jump from 24% last year.

About the Data: The data is based on a survey of 2,388 adults screened from a general population sample for being monthly+ viewers of online video and “ever” users of either TV Online, Amateur, or Original Digital Video. Full surveys were completed with 1,011 monthly+ viewers. Due to robust sample sizes, analysis was performed on monthly+ users of each video type.

The survey was conducted from March 27-April 2, 2014.

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