Akamai Technologies, a service provider for accelerating content and applications online, has released a study exploring two fundamental elements related to the future success of online video: consumer preferences of video consumption and consumer reaction to low-quality viewing experiences. The most compelling results reveal that, having experienced poor video performance at an Internet site, more than half of online video users would seek content from a competing Web site, and a quarter would leave with a more negative brand perception and be less likely to return to the poorly performing site.
According to the study conducted by JupiterResearch, the consequences for a Web site with low-quality video content are a significant loss in return visitors and potential advertising revenues. Online video that is interrupted for buffering purposes and slow playback are the greatest sources of frustration. Sixty percent of frequent online video users (those who watch online videos at least once per week) are less likely to return to a site for video content if the viewing experience was poor, and close to half will seek their video content from a competing Web site. More than a quarter of those users went so far as to say they would be less likely to visit the poorly performing Web site again.
The survey also highlighted the appetites of online video consumers. More than a quarter of online consumers are interested in bandwidth-intensive video content such as full-length movies and TV programs viewed from their PCs. On the other hand, 42 percent of online consumers indicated that they were less interested in online video content, because they preferred their TVs for a rich viewing experience. Video publishers must therefore focus their technology efforts on minimizing video download times and improving the viewing experience for this requested content.
For more information, visit http://www.akamai.com/jupiter.
