Presently, 150 million online users in the US watch about 14.5 billion videos per month, comScore writes. That’s an average of 97 videos per viewer. comScore also says average video durations have risen slowly but measurably in the past year — averaging 3.4 minutes in March.
And while, granted, most popular streaming videos are still on the shorter side, video hosting sites are preparing for a slow change in the tide. This year YouTube created separate sections for both shows and full-length films. And Hulu is doing so well that the company is contemplating a subscription model for some of its long-form content.
Online video is expected to become a $1 billion business in 2011, according to eMarketer. Meanwhile, online video today is witnessing a turning point, according to VP-Media Analytics Jon Gibs of Nielsen.