Is online video viewing changing the face of TV as we know it?
If you are not of the opinion that online video viewing is transforming the face of television, then you might want to think again. More and more people today are choosing the Internet as a preferred way to view videos. The statistics are not entirely surprising, although worth looking at all the same. This has also changed the way businesses market their products and services through video today.
The statistics
By 2020 Bell Labs, which is a research firm, predicts that TV viewership will be up 77% online in America alone. Research conducted to date supports this notion, as there is so far a decline in the number of hours that adults aged 18-24 spends watching terrestrial TV every week. This number has gone down by almost 2 hours weekly, and this time has been substituted with watching videos online.
This is a trend that is being seen throughout the world. For example, the number of online videos being viewed all over the world has increased 8 fold as of 2012. It seems that there is more demand than ever for online videos, and this demand will continue to increase in the coming years.
Why more videos online?
There are a number of factors that have lead to online video being preferred over traditional television content. The first is the increase in new technology to support this trend. Internet speeds have increased a great deal over the past decade or so. In addition to this, there are plenty of platforms that support viewing online videos. Services such as Blinkbox, Netflix and Google Play are just some of the platforms that have made it possible to view videos online and with ease.
There is also some convenience in online video viewing. There are plenty of devices that can support viewing TV programs online, and such hardware is relatively cheap and easy to come by. People can now watch their favourite programs online through mobile devices, laptops and tablets among other portable devices. Such devices have made it easy to watch videos on demand and on the go, a luxury that is not normally possible on the traditional TV set.
What this means for the future
Although it is impossible for some to entirely do away with the traditional television set, it is clear that there will continue to be more demand for online videos in the coming years. Most new TVs are now connected to the Internet to allow for on-demand viewing of videos. This means that we will also continue to see video advertising in the coming years in the same way that we have been used to television adverts. Still, the television set holds a special place in our daily schedule, and it will take more than a few portable devices to do away with it entirely.
