New research from Nielsen Online suggests that marketers hoping to catch the eye of women 18 to 34 should skip the YouTube campaigns and opt instead for the Web sites of broadcast TV channels.
The study, released by Nielsen’s VideoCensus syndicated online video measurement service, found that women in that age group are nearly twice as likely as men to watch long-format streaming video—such as recently aired TV episodes— over network sites.
Specifically, VideoCensus found that 22% of women 18 to 34 watched video on a network Web site in December, compared to 11% of men from the same age group. But 27% of males in that range viewed clips on a consumer-generated media (CGM) Web site such as YouTube, MySpace Video, Veoh or Break.com during the month; Only 12% of women in the demographic reported doing the same.
People who watched streamed video at network sites showed little tendency to overlap onto those of other broadcasters, Nielsen found, indicating that marketers at those sites would need to advertise on multiple sites to reach a large portion of that audience. But those who reported watching consumer-made video on YouTube showed a strong tendency to watch more video on MySpace (84%), Veoh (93%) or Break.com (87%).
“Network Web sites are destinations for fans to deepen their experience,” Nielsen Online Media Analyst Michael Pond said in a statement. “They go to see favorite scenes, episodes and outtakes. These viewers are very loyal and engaged and the Web site is a place to become immersed in the program. With shorter clips and a viral nature, CGM Web sites are much more about discovery, and consumers are likely to view content on more than one.”
Nielsen’s VideoCensus research also identified a “new prime time” for streaming activity at the major network TV Web sites: The weekday lunch hours of 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. CGM Web sites see their greatest viewership between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The company also reported that 116.7 million unique viewers, constituting about 73% of Web visitors, watched online video in December. The average viewer spent two hours 10 minutes consuming video on the PC or laptop during the month.
