Nielsen: Teens Biggest Users of Online Video
June 9, 2008
-By Mike Shields
Kids Tune In to Cartoon's Chowder
Although online video is perceived as the domain of officemates sharing stupid YouTube videos or die-hard fans dialing up that episode of Lost they missed, it’s kids and teens who are doing most of the streaming--particularly at home, where kids 2-11 averaged 51 streams and 118 minutes of online video during the month of April, according to Nielsen Online’s VideoCensus. Teens are even more voracious video users, with the 12-17 demo averaging 74 streams and 132 minutes of online video monthly, versus 44 streams and 99 minutes averaged by users 18-plus.

One thing the demos have in common is that YouTube reaches the largest numbers of streamers. In April, the site reached 4.1 million kids 2-11 and 8.9 million teens 12-17. That’s more than 5 million more teens than the No. 2 video destination, MySpace.

Unlike with teens, TV brands dominate the top 10 video sites among kids, with DisneyChannel.com, Nick.com, Buena Vista and CartoonNetwork all among the most popular.

The sites seem to have evolved to satisfy the multi-tasking, immersive-entertainment needs and wants of kids, which are markedly different than those of adults. “What I think is happening is, now that broadband has really taken off, there are these very rich environments online that have all the elements kids really enjoy,” said Nielsen Online senior media analyst Michael Pond. Those elements include video, games and social tools, which many kids’ sites offer all in one place.

Similarly, for teens--who spend huge chunks of time on the Web visiting social networks like MySpace--entertainment and socialization blend seamlessly.

For the time being, adults, who grew up in a traditional-media world, have far less free time and tend to get their video fixes at the office, while they go online at home to read the news and tap into utilities like e-mail. “The Internet for adults has more purposes than entertainment,” said Pond.