New Figures Reveal a 37% Surge in UK Online Video Viewing

The latest statistics published by ComScore this week reveal that the number of videos viewed online in the UK has increased by 37% year on year, with more than a billion videos being streamed each day by users globally.

Google-owned YouTube.com celebrated its 5th birthday in February and remains the most popular provider of online videos in the UK, with 2.5 billion views in February 2010 alone and 17% growth. Facebook is the fastest growing videos site growing by 205%, while others reporting a year-on-year increase include the BBC (140 million views) and Megavideo.com (53 million views).

In addition to social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, it’s hard to remember what the web was like before video clips came along. In a recent article published on the YouTube blog, Co-Founder and CEO of YouTube Chad Hurley shared his belief that ‘video has the power to give rise to the most diverse set of faces and voices ever seen or heard in human history”.

One of my guilty TV pleasures is a show called Rude Tube which counts down the top viral advertising videos and internet clips from around the world, and although I’ve seen many of the clips before, there are always a few that leave me speechless! As the Rude Tube website states, “you can now watch almost anybody, doing anything, whenever and wherever you want”!

Social media and online videos have also revolutionised the way that news is reported. This was evident this week as thousands of people logged on to watch Gordon Brown’s latest pre-election gaffe – the unfortunate clip which caught Mr Brown off-guard during a pre-election walkabout in Rochdale was up on Youtube and hundreds of other video sites within minutes and had attracted tens of thousands of views by the end of the day. The aggrieved voter, Gillian Duffy, will no doubt become one of the unexpected stars of the election!

Are you addicted to online video sites such as YouTube? Vote in our social media poll opposite or leave a comment below!

Related Blog Post: Video is the Next Revolution in Online Advertising