On Average People Watch 5 Ads Per Video Online

Sites include YouTube.com . Published on December 15th, 2011. Written by Anthony West.

The momentum gained by online video looks to be finally paying off for advertisers. This is the conclusion coming out of a study conducted by video technology company Freewheel.

According to the study, online video views are up 97% in the third quarter of 2011, and this has translated into massive growth of video ads views across all major video platforms. The study found that online video ads in terms of viewership grew by a massive 128%, and this marked the first time ever that video ad viewership has outstripped online video views growth numbers. The study found that on average, people are now watching 5 ads per video online and most people are developing a strong tolerance for ads. This is a stark contrast to the early days on video ads when many people annoyed by them, vowed to stop watching online videos all together.

The study didn’t make any solid conclusions about ‘why’ people are watching more video ads but I rather suspect its down to the way content providers are now running their operations (think YouTube). There seems to be a growing trend of charging people to view content ad-free, so the Freewheel study has just captured data surrounding free videos. Of course I could be wrong, but for now I am sticking to that conclusion. Nobody logs onto to YouTube or any other video sharing platform to view ads, and the only way they’ll tolerate them is if they have no choice.

Do you agree that videos are now tightly married to ads and that viewers have little choice but to watch them? Share your views below.