Is Web Video Replacing Prime-time TV?.

For years, broadcast and cable TV programmers and distributors have talked about web video as if it didn’t pose a threat to their business, typically arguing that it wascomplementary,not competitive. And statistics seemed to indicate that was in fact the case — the amount of time people spent watching televisioncontinued to increase while web video remained largely a daytime work distraction.

But now there are signs that web video could bedisplacing traditional TV viewing during prime time. A piece in theWall Street Journal highlights the shift in consumer behavior, noting that web video distributors are finding that their shows are increasingly being watched at the same time that TV programmers broadcast their hottest shows.

According to the WSJ, in just a year the peak viewing hours for shows distributed byBlip.tvhave shifted to the prime-time hours of 8-11 p.m from 12-3 p.m. Meanwhile Nielsen found that the number of viewers who watched online video during prime time hours in March increased 14 percent to 62.4 million over the course of a year. Meanwhile, online viewership during the day grew only 1 percent, to 45.4 million.

Continues @http://newteevee.com/2010/06/09/is-web-video-replacing-prime-time-tv/

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