55% of Online Video Viewers OK with Web Ads

As content providers look to monetize online video, they have a few basic options: ad support, fees or a combination of the two. While services like Hulu Plus add a pay wall to an already ad-supported service, research suggests more ads might not turn off users.

A Frank N. Magid Associates survey sponsored by video site Metacafe found the majority of online video viewers think online video ads are at least as acceptable as television commercials. Fewer than a quarter of respondents thought online ads were more annoying.

Millennials, the biggest fans of online video, were also the most comfortable with the ads. Nearly a fifth of men ages 18 to 24 thought online video ads were more acceptable than TV ads; 10% of women the same age agreed. Older users tended to view the two as equivalent.

Younger viewers may feel so positively toward online video ads because they realize how few there are in comparison to television commercials. Two-thirds of cross-platform TV viewers told comScore in December 2009 that watching online was better because there were fewer ads, but the same study indicated users would tolerate more interruptions.

comScore reported a “sweet spot” of online video advertising of about 6 to 7 minutes per hour, significantly more ad time than the current norm of about 4 minutes per hour shown against online TV content.

From http://www.emarketer.com July 10th 2010

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