Hulu’s video traffic has grown at a staggering clip over the past year—driven in part by an older (35-plus) Web audience. Meanwhile, over the same period of time, former Web video powerhouse Fox Interactive Media has seen its streaming traffic plummet. And all the while YouTube has maintained its dominance of the category—accounting for 58 percent of all video streamed on the Web in the U.S.
Those are just a few of the findings in the latest VideoCensus report issued by Nielsen Online. For example, in April, Hulu streamed over 373 million videos, a whopping increase of 490 percent versus the same month last year. According to Nielsen’s analysis, a big chunk of that growth can be attributed to adults 35 to 49, who make up 30 percent of the site’s audience. In the past six months Nielsen found that demo’s time spent per viewer increased by 154 percent to 416 minutes per month on Hulu. That minutes-per-month figure is 10 percent larger than any other age group found on the site—indicating that the 35-plus crowd is drawn to Hulu’s collection of longer-form content—much of which is sourced from TV.
However, to keep things in perspective, even as Hulu soars, YouTube is hardly shrinking in its wake. The Google-owned video site saw its total volume of streams climb by 36 percent in April to nearly 5.5 billion videos compared to the same period last year. That’s almost 15 times as many videos as Hulu streamed last month. The 35 to 49 crowd also spent three times as much time on YouTube as they did on Hulu (nearly 3 billion minutes versus less than 1 billion).
Meanwhile, Fox Interactive Media (FIM), which includes social networking giant MySpace, is quickly losing its stature among the top Web video players. FIM properties generated 201 million streams in April, representing a slide of 39 percent year over year (and just 54 percent of Hulu’s video volume). That places FIM behind Yahoo, which delivered 203 million streams, a decline of 8 percent versus last year for the portal.
Gaining ground on FIM is MTV Network’s Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network, which theoretically targets a much more niche audience. According to Nielsen, Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network streamed 176 million videos in April, an increase of 16 percent versus the same month in 2008.
[the article was originally published at http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/local-broadcast/e3id8b91cde574aee6561378e0eb5ff80bb]
Showing posts with label fox interactive media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fox interactive media. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
ABC to Add Its Shows to Videos on Hulu
Three of the four big broadcast networks now own stakes in Hulu, the popular video Web site.
ABC Enterprises, a unit of the Walt Disney Company, announced Thursday that it would join NBC Universal, which is owned by General Electric and Vivendi, and the News Corporation, owner of Fox, as a partner in the joint venture.
Hulu, which in the last 18 months has become the third most popular video site on the Web, behind YouTube and Fox Interactive Media, displays free, high-quality versions of television shows and movies, supported by advertising. It said it would add ABC shows like “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to its online library by late summer, pending regulatory approval.
Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, said that while most of the network’s shows will continue to be available on ABC.com, that site attracts mostly core fans. By distributing them on Hulu, Disney hopes to reach Hulu’s much-larger audience of 42 million visitors a month.
According to people briefed on the terms of the deal, ABC will give Hulu an exclusive license to distribute its shows on Hulu.com and across the Web on Hulu’s partner sites, like MySpace and AOL .com. ABC will also give Hulu around $25 million in marketing credit, which Hulu can use to advertise itself during ABC’s broadcast shows.
In exchange, Disney will take a 28 percent stake in Hulu.com, a little less than the stakes of the joint venture’s founders, NBC Universal and the News Corporation. As part of the deal, NBC and the News Corporation also renewed their commitments to provide their shows exclusively to Hulu for an additional two years.
The deal is a blow to YouTube, owned by Google and by far the largest video site on the Web. It also courted Disney but struck a deal to display only short clips from shows on ABC and ESPN. People familiar with the negotiations said talks between Disney and YouTube broke down over how a deal would be structured, with Disney insisting on owning a stake in any joint venture.
Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal and a member of the Hulu board, said the experience on Hulu.com was superior to that on YouTube, for viewers and advertisers.
“Advertisers have made it clear that they want a safe environment unpolluted by videos of cats on skateboards,” Mr. Zucker said. “Couple that with the fact that Hulu has generated a user experience that is second to none. That has made Hulu the pre-eminent video site.”
ABC’s deal with Hulu also isolates CBS, which will be the only major broadcast network without a seat at the Hulu table. In a statement, CBS said it wanted to maintain control over the distribution of its shows online.
CBS has been offered a chance to join the joint venture several times, say people who have followed the continuing discussions, but has always declined. CBS distributes its shows on 300 video sites, including Joost, MSN and AOL. It also withholds some shows from the Web for several days after they are broadcast to ensure that the Web does not cannibalize the more profitable TV-watching audience.
That is a widespread concern among all the television networks and cable and satellite companies, and it is the reason Disney will not make cable shows like “Hannah Montana” available on Hulu. But Peter A. Chernin, president of News Corporation, said the answer was not to withhold material from sites like Hulu.
“The alternative of never making anything available on the Web is just silliness,” he said. “Then the pirates will just make it available for you. ”
Mr. Chernin said cable companies and Hulu were devising ways to identify the subscribers of cable and satellite services when they visit the site, so they can provide access to cable shows.
[the article was originally published at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/business/media/01hulu.html?_r=1&ref=media]
ABC Enterprises, a unit of the Walt Disney Company, announced Thursday that it would join NBC Universal, which is owned by General Electric and Vivendi, and the News Corporation, owner of Fox, as a partner in the joint venture.
Hulu, which in the last 18 months has become the third most popular video site on the Web, behind YouTube and Fox Interactive Media, displays free, high-quality versions of television shows and movies, supported by advertising. It said it would add ABC shows like “Lost,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to its online library by late summer, pending regulatory approval.
Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, said that while most of the network’s shows will continue to be available on ABC.com, that site attracts mostly core fans. By distributing them on Hulu, Disney hopes to reach Hulu’s much-larger audience of 42 million visitors a month.
According to people briefed on the terms of the deal, ABC will give Hulu an exclusive license to distribute its shows on Hulu.com and across the Web on Hulu’s partner sites, like MySpace and AOL .com. ABC will also give Hulu around $25 million in marketing credit, which Hulu can use to advertise itself during ABC’s broadcast shows.
In exchange, Disney will take a 28 percent stake in Hulu.com, a little less than the stakes of the joint venture’s founders, NBC Universal and the News Corporation. As part of the deal, NBC and the News Corporation also renewed their commitments to provide their shows exclusively to Hulu for an additional two years.
The deal is a blow to YouTube, owned by Google and by far the largest video site on the Web. It also courted Disney but struck a deal to display only short clips from shows on ABC and ESPN. People familiar with the negotiations said talks between Disney and YouTube broke down over how a deal would be structured, with Disney insisting on owning a stake in any joint venture.
Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Universal and a member of the Hulu board, said the experience on Hulu.com was superior to that on YouTube, for viewers and advertisers.
“Advertisers have made it clear that they want a safe environment unpolluted by videos of cats on skateboards,” Mr. Zucker said. “Couple that with the fact that Hulu has generated a user experience that is second to none. That has made Hulu the pre-eminent video site.”
ABC’s deal with Hulu also isolates CBS, which will be the only major broadcast network without a seat at the Hulu table. In a statement, CBS said it wanted to maintain control over the distribution of its shows online.
CBS has been offered a chance to join the joint venture several times, say people who have followed the continuing discussions, but has always declined. CBS distributes its shows on 300 video sites, including Joost, MSN and AOL. It also withholds some shows from the Web for several days after they are broadcast to ensure that the Web does not cannibalize the more profitable TV-watching audience.
That is a widespread concern among all the television networks and cable and satellite companies, and it is the reason Disney will not make cable shows like “Hannah Montana” available on Hulu. But Peter A. Chernin, president of News Corporation, said the answer was not to withhold material from sites like Hulu.
“The alternative of never making anything available on the Web is just silliness,” he said. “Then the pirates will just make it available for you. ”
Mr. Chernin said cable companies and Hulu were devising ways to identify the subscribers of cable and satellite services when they visit the site, so they can provide access to cable shows.
[the article was originally published at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/business/media/01hulu.html?_r=1&ref=media]
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Nielsen: Online Video Audience Bounces Back In March
After a fall-off in February, online video viewership last month bounced back in March, according to Nielsen Online's latest VideoCensus report. Total video streams increased almost 9% to 9.7 billion in March, while time per viewer rose 12.6% to 191 minutes. Unique viewers inched up 2% to 130 million.
YouTube accounted for nearly 5.5 billion streams, followed by Hulu, with 348.5 million and Yahoo, with 231.8 million. Fox Interactive Media surged ahead of Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network into fourth place, with 207.5 million streams -- up from 194.3 million in February.
Hulu -- now a solid if distant No. 2 to YouTube in online video -- continued its steady rise, increasing streams about 10% in March and adding about 600,000 unique viewers for a total of 9.5 million.
The March figures are a contrast to February, when total streams fell 15%, unique viewers declined 6%, and time per viewer dipped more than 5% to 169 minutes.
A seasonal surge in the online video audience tied to the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament likely helped boost overall viewership figures in March. CBS said unique visitors to its March Madness on Demand video service increased 60% over last year to 7.5 million, and total video and audio was up 75% to 8.6 million hours.
CBSSports.com alone generated 38.2 million streams last month and 3.3 unique video viewers -- up more than 1,200% and nearly 300%, respectively, from February. CBS also distributed its free March Madness offering across 200 sites including YouTube, Facebook and Yahoo.
Total video streams in March were up almost 40% from a year ago.
[credit : http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=104007]
YouTube accounted for nearly 5.5 billion streams, followed by Hulu, with 348.5 million and Yahoo, with 231.8 million. Fox Interactive Media surged ahead of Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network into fourth place, with 207.5 million streams -- up from 194.3 million in February.
Hulu -- now a solid if distant No. 2 to YouTube in online video -- continued its steady rise, increasing streams about 10% in March and adding about 600,000 unique viewers for a total of 9.5 million.
The March figures are a contrast to February, when total streams fell 15%, unique viewers declined 6%, and time per viewer dipped more than 5% to 169 minutes.
A seasonal surge in the online video audience tied to the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament likely helped boost overall viewership figures in March. CBS said unique visitors to its March Madness on Demand video service increased 60% over last year to 7.5 million, and total video and audio was up 75% to 8.6 million hours.
CBSSports.com alone generated 38.2 million streams last month and 3.3 unique video viewers -- up more than 1,200% and nearly 300%, respectively, from February. CBS also distributed its free March Madness offering across 200 sites including YouTube, Facebook and Yahoo.
Total video streams in March were up almost 40% from a year ago.
[credit : http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=104007]
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