Online Videos Come Out at the Top for 2008
Growth expected to climb through 2012.
from AICPA Custom Media Solutions

US Internet users viewed 12.7 billion online videos during November 2008 alone, up more than one-third over November 2007, according to January 2009 from comScore Video Metrix.

comScore said more than 146 million US Internet users watched an average of 87 videos per viewer in November 2008. eMarketer expects online video viewers to reach more than three-quarters of U.S. Internet users, and estimates that the current 77 percent viewership will increase to 88 percent by 2012.

U.S. Online Video Advertising Viewers, 2007–2012
(millions and percent of users)

  Online video advertising viewers* Percent of Internet users
2007 111.4 59.6%
2008 129.5 67.2%
2009 144.1 72.3%
2010 154.9 75.5%
2011 164.7 78.1%
2012 174.8 80.9%
(Source:eMarketer)
* views any form of video advertising (stream, banner, text)

So the question arises: Can this growth be monetized?

While it is safe to say that most viewers hate watching advertisements while streaming videos and would loathe paying for it, David Hallerman, senior analyst at eMarketer, feels because of this “content owners and publishers are focusing on ad-funded models.”

eMarketer expects online video ad spending to reach $4.6 billion in 2013, up from $587
million in 2008.