The numbers show Hulu and Cable TV complementing, not competing, with each other
There’s plenty of buzz around “Hulu vs. Cable TV” (just search for that phrase), but does consumer behavior back it up? So far, the numbers say no.
The Hulu vs. Cable argument centers on traffic and videos watched. But important number is the minutes spent per video – are people spending the time to watch long form on the web? In minutes per video, viewers watching Hulu content spent an average of 6.7 minutes on each video they watched. This is a far cry from the shortest TV content (the 20 minute sitcom).
There are certainly many people watching many long form video, but the numbers indicate that short form video still dominates web viewing habits (the overall web average is 2.5 minutes per video, according to comScore. At the same time, Nielsen’s three screens report shows TV watching at an all time high. True, people surf when in front of the TV, but that behavior indicates surfing to short form content while long form broadcasts through the TV.
This is of critical importance to marketing and PR professionals as we must execute programs that fit today’s audience. And what we are seeing is that the PC based web continues to be a short form video medium with TV alive and well when it comes to long form video.
Sources:
comScore – http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2756
Nielsen Three Screens report – M2 Three Screen Report
(disclosure: the author works with Web video company Dailymotion)
