Ipsos released some new research, seeking to understand how consumers engage with media brands, with a specific focus on popular online video and TV brands. YouTube was found to be the most engaging online video brand, as Google is happy to point out.

However, YouTube is (unsurprisingly) scored much higher in the entertainment department than the credibility department:

Interestingly enough another study was released this week, looking at credibility of content in different online environments. This research from the Online Publishers Association found that consumers are more likely to trust content on media sites than on portal channels and social media. There appear to be some parallels here.

YouTube has been doing plenty to raise its credibility as a destination for professional and important content. Three very recent examples come immediately to mind. This week, YouTube announced that it is a testing news feed feature, which aims to bring breaking news via YouTube into one stream. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs answered user-submitted questions on YouTube following a speech from President Obama, and YouTube partnered with the Guggenheim on an interesting contest. There are plenty more examples.

Still, it appears many users still consider YouTube just a place to find sill cat videos, and other entertaining, but not necessarily important content. A number of our Facebook fans who took the time to comment, said they wouldn’t use YouTube’s news feed as a news source.

Regardless of credibility status, more people are watching and sharing online video, and YouTube is the biggest contributor to this. The credible content is on there. It’s just a matter of finding it, and users acknowledging it.

Over the past six months, the popularity of online video has grown significantly with women and older consumers, helping to close the age and gender gap within the growing online video audience in the U.S. according to data from Ipsos Media CT’s Motion study.

Since the last part of 2007, the percentage of female Internet users ages 12 and older that have watched a video online in the past 30 days has increased from 45 percent to 54 percent. That represents an all time high for this demographic and almost equal to the percentage of men (58%) who have recently viewed online video.

In addition, the percentage of adults aged 35-54 that have recently watched online video has also jumped since December 2007, growing from 49 percent to 60 percent in that time period.

"It appears the prevalence of streaming video online among younger males may be approaching a ceiling today, whereas the other demographic groups are driving the audience growth here, said Adam Wright, Director at Ipsos MediaCT.

"The implication for those in the video entertainment industry is that online video – as a medium – appears to be tapping into later stage adopter segments that were perhaps reticent to embrace it even just a year ago."

 The data reveals the large online audience that online video services are attracting also is leading to a shift in media landscape for many video entertainment consumers.

"Television networks, movie studios and other video entertainment entities will need to recognize the growing demand among all consumers for digital distribution," said Wright.

"Streaming video is no longer something just teens and twenty-something’s are enjoying, but rather it has become a fixture in mainstream America’s daily routines."

User-Generated video accounts for 42 percent of online video while professional online video represents 58 percent of streams and 96 percent of ad-related revenue, which is unlikely to change over the next five years.

Online video viewers are more likely to accept ads in videos that are professionally produced in exchange for access to free content according to a survey from Ipsos MediaCT. The survey found that three in four viewers said it was reasonable to have advertising appear in professionally produced content.

"Nobody is going to tell you they love advertising," said Adam Wright, director of Ipsos Media CT. "But the [survey] confirmed the notion that people get the give and take. That can be reassuring for many of the people who are trying to crack the code [of ad-subsidized video models]."

The opposite was true with user-generated video with over half saying that it was unacceptable to have ads appear in amateur video.

According to TDG some advantages of online video over TV include engaging the viewer, being able to measure reaction and tracking audience behavior over time. Advertisers are better able to determine return-on-investment and customize ads for specific audiences.