blinkx Survey of TV and Online Video Habits Reveals Surprising User Behavior

Business Wire, Feb 28, 2008

Double Dipping, Typers vs. Talkers and Media Multitasking Stand out as Common Activities

SAN FRANCISCO -- blinkx, the world's largest video search engine, today announced the results of a new survey on television and online video viewing habits conducted on its behalf by Harris Interactive([R]). The survey, designed to shed light into the interplay between television viewing and Internet usage, revealed some startling results.

It's Prime Time Online

There's no question that the market for online television and video has arrived. According to comScore, nearly 136 million Americans, or 75% of total Internet users, watch online video. Similarly, a July 2007 report from Pew Internet & American Life Project entitled Online Video reported that 76% of young adults (age 18-29) consume online video, and that two-thirds of those individuals (67%) then forward those videos on to friends and family.

"With the ubiquity of broadband and the increasing availability of high quality content online, we wanted to better understand what audiences are really looking for and how they want to watch it," said Suranga Chandratillake, founder and CEO of blinkx. "Online television shouldn't simply replicate the living rooms TV experience we already have. We wanted insight into how to bring combined television's best qualities, with the immersive, connected power of the Internet."

Media Multitasking

Many of the early concerns about online video revolved around the Web stealing away television viewers. Today's survey results point to the fact that when it comes to TV vs. the Web, it's not an either/or proposition - it's both.

When it comes to television viewing, the survey showed that more than three in four adults are doing the two-screen tango. Viewers aren't necessarily abandoning their TV in favor of the Web; many are using the Web as an accompaniment to their TV viewing. In fact, 78% U.S. adults go online while watching TV, and more than a third of them do so always or often.

Double Dippers

"Double-dippers" are comprised of adults who enjoy surfing the Internet while watching television. Fully 62% of double-dippers surf the web while watching television for content that is not related to what they're watching. And 25% of double-dippers go online for information specific to the programming they are currently viewing. Most commonly, double-dippers who surf the web for related content are looking for more information or color about what they're watching, be it profiles of the actors (51%), products/services that appeared in or were advertised during the program (40%), or related upcoming events (39%).

Typers vs. Talkers

One generational consistency revealed in the survey is the difference between a "talker" and a "typer." In general, the older the individual, the more likely that person is to discuss TV content with other individuals in person, i.e., with co-workers, friends or family. These are the talkers. The largest segment of individuals that routinely respond to TV content via face-to-face conversations (60%) was the 35-44 age group. Correspondingly, individuals aged 16-24 are most likely to interact with others online (17%) or read coverage or reviews of TV content online (24%).

"Similar to double-dipper behavior," added Chandratillake, "it's not necessarily a question of either/or. Some individuals enjoy the act of face-to-face conversation about television content; others interact heavily online and value the sounding board provided by the Web community. The fact that 'typers' skew younger is an indicator to the advertising community as to how and when to allocate online spend as an adjunct to TV viewership."

Survey Highlights

A summary of some other highlights from the survey include:

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78% of adults who watch television use the web while doing so
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-- 35% report doing so often or always
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62% of double-dippers surf for content related to what they're
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watching
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40% of them look for products/services that appeared in or were
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advertised during the program they're watching
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39% of them look for upcoming/related events
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When it comes to watching video or television content online,
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twice as many online adults typically watch full-length television
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shows, movies, or sporting events, as compared to user-generated
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content (25% vs. 13%, respectively).
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When it comes to finding Internet video content, consumer behavior
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is almost equally divided between search engines and users going
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directly to content owner Web sites

As the pioneer in video search technology, blinkx has built a reputation as the smartest way to search new forms of online content such as video. With more than 220 partners and 18 million hours of indexed video and audio content, including favorite TV moments, news clips, short documentaries, music videos, video blogs and more, blinkx uses advanced speech recognition technology to deliver results that are more accurate and reliable than standard metadata-based keyword searches.