According to a recent press release, 51% of Americans have watched screaming video in the past week. Some people are calling this a tipping point, but is it?
The study specifically measures viewing habits of U.S. people using online streaming video through technology such as tablets and smartphones. Of course, we already knew that usage for these devices was up. One of the reasons it’s up, I would suspect, is the ability to view streaming video – or at least the ease of downloading video. The viewing measured is for popular TV shows that are also available online.
So that doesn’t mean that you should rush right out and invest thousands of dollars into your streaming video show. Or does it?
I think this may be an untapped opportunity for marketers. But I think we’ll start to see some savvy Internet marketers experimenting with streaming video in the near future. Imagine your own YouTube channel where you reach an audience on a regular basis sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the next installment of your Web series. What would you do with that audience?
TV sponsorship is centered around advertisers paying TV stations for segments between scenes or between movie spots on their stations. Online video streaming sponsorship could just as well be centered on brands developing their own entertainment channel as a branding element.
What do you think?