There is a gender split when it comes to preferences in online video, according to new data from market research group Nielsen Online. While streams of network TV shows have proven to be pretty popular among women, men seem to take more interest in user-generated video sites (such as YouTube). Viewers tend to view the two types of sites at different times, too—data that could help online video advertisers better target their audiences.
The findings come as part of Nielsen Online's official launch of VideoCensus, the company's syndicated online video measurement service. VideoCensus uses "patented panel and server research methodologies" in order to monitor trends in video watching online, according to the company. Such a service is in high demand among content creators, Nielsen says, because video ad revenue is highly dependent on it.
VideoCensus' first month of data revealed some unexpected trends with online video viewing. This past December, Nielsen found that women aged 18 to 34 were almost twice as likely as men of the same age group to watch network TV streams, like those offered on NBC.com or Hulu. Nielsen did not provide an explanation, but it may be that men are more likely to get their TV shows in other ways (e.g., via BitTorrent). There appeared to be no accounting for iTunes (still one of the most popular destinations for online video) because it is not a web-based service.
When it comes to watching talking cats or "passionate" fans defending Britney Spears, though, the numbers are flipped. Men aged 18 to 34 were over twice as likely to check out user-generated video sites as women, with YouTube being their number one destination. Veoh, Break.com, and MySpace Video were also popular destinations, though, and Nielsen says this is because user-generated video is all viral. "With shorter clips and a viral nature, [Consumer Generated Media] Web sites are much more about discovery, and consumers are likely to view content on more than one," said Nielsen Online's Michael Pond.
Even the hours at which network TV and user-generated video sites are most active differ. Nielsen found that those watching user-generated video did so most often at night and on the weekends, between the hours of 11 PM and 6 AM. On the flipside, those who use streaming network TV sites did so on weekdays between 12 PM and 2 PM, most likely over lunch. "These results indicate that the largest appetite for streaming broadcast content is during the noontime hours, when viewers take a break from work to catch up on the shows they enjoy," Pond said.
The results not only give advertisers insight into which demographics they should target, but also which groups video portals could do a better job of attracting. Network TV sites could look for ways to make their video more appealing to men than alternatives like P2P apps, which provide higher-resolution video than most web services, and do so in DRM-free, device-friendly formats.
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