WebProNews

The number of people watching online video through a browser has doubled over the past year, going from 32 percent a year a go to 63 percent today, according to a new ABI Research study.

ABI says the growth is due to the amount of rich content available in ad-supported format on portals and via social networks, along with increasing demand from people for video in both short-and long-form online content.

"Consumers are changing their online habits quickly," says research director Michael Wolf. "Broadband speeds have continued to increase at the same time that Hollywood has decided online distribution is a legitimate monetization opportunity that will increase total return on their video assets, and expand audiences."

"At the same time, easy to use content creation tools are being put into the hands of consumers and this has effectively created new forms of communication and entertainment."

All forms of content are leading to the increased rise of broadband video consumption, including long-form TV shows, and much of the longer-form content today is being watched by younger viewers.

When asked if they watched long-form content in the form of TV shows or movies online, close to half of those under 25, and 53 percent of those 25-29 said they do so once a month or more.

Older viewers are much more likely to have experimented once with online shows. Seventy-five percent of those over 65 who watch online video said they have never watched TV shows or movies online.

"Today's younger consumers are developing habits that will mean drastic changes for the video entertainment market," said Wolf. "Many consume a large percentage or even a majority of their video entertainment through online distribution today, and we believe that this trend will continue to accelerate as more efforts are made to put this content on various non-PC screens."