Short Attention Span Theater: Web Video Watchers Bail Fast
by Peter Kafka
Posted on November 26, 2008 at 3:00 AM PT
Everyone knows Web video watchers are watching a lot of video. That’s why YouTube is one of the biggest Web sites in the world. But Web video watchers don’t actually watch that much video footage.
Confused? Don’t be. It’s a straightforward explanation: Web video watchers have even twitchier fingers than couch potatoes flipping through 500 channels. Which means that the longer any particular video runs, the less likely they are to watch the whole thing.
Common sense, really. But the folks at video-tracking service TubeMogul are now offering a statistical backstop: A study of how long the average Web video watcher stays with any given clip (click chart below to enlarge).
Answer: Less than one minute. Ten seconds into an average clip, more than 10 percent of viewers have moved on, TubeMogul says. And by 60 seconds, more than half of viewers have bailed out. Anything more than five minutes is heroic: More than 91 percent of viewers are gone by then.
That’s one of the reasons many Web video publishers and advertisers are sticking with “pre-roll” ads that run before any actual content shows up–even Google’s (GOOG) YouTube, which had previously disdained pre-rolls, is now contemplating using them in order to goose revenue. (And yes, this site uses them as well).
That’s a shame. In an ideal world, video sites would give people a good reason to keep watching a clip as soon as they hit play. And they would find a way to get an ad in front of viewers once they’re already engrossed.
Easier said than done, admittedly. But while Web video’s big brains go to work on this problem, let me invite you to stick all the way through the six-minute, 48-second clip below: Stevie Wonder singing “Superstition” on Sesame Street in 1973. If you get all the way through and aren’t satisfied, let me know. I’ll get you your money back.
Comments
In this case, talent trumps the need to multi-task or move on to the next thing. The passion that Wonder and his band bring to the song holds your attention. Simply put, passion holds your attention, no matter what the subject of the video.
Posted by Ken Okel at November 26th, 2008 at 6:57 amHalfway through, when I wanted to comment on how great this was (right after Stevie sang “Or I’ll just have to sing Sesame Street songs…”)… hit comment…and of course the video stopped playing. Multitasking is the enemy of the web video!
Posted by fred graver at November 26th, 2008 at 7:16 amPlay it again, Fred! It’s the day before Thanksgiving. Nobody expects anyone to get anything done.
Posted by Peter Kafka at November 26th, 2008 at 9:19 amPerhaps people that view videos today are more inclined to value their time, especially when compared to the legacy TV model. Mass media advertising on TV was all about “impressions” — engagement in the content was never a requirement. A recent study of YouTube video viewership has uncovered data that suggests a small segment of uploaders — ProSumer videographers — attain the vast majority of visitor views on the site. My point: pre-roll Ads on their content should demand a premium, since that have a track record of producing engaging content.
Posted by David H Deans at November 28th, 2008 at 6:26 ami wish i could see a multi media attention comparison chart (tv ad, tv movie, youtube video, fox video etc..) do you have it?
Posted by simo righini at January 9th, 2009 at 5:53 am