New AP-AOL Video Survey Finds More Than Half of Internet Users Are Watching Video Online

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2006--

One-Third of Online Video Users Watch More Online Than They Did One Year Ago

According to a new AP-AOL Video survey, more than half (54 percent) of all U.S. Internet users have watched or downloaded a video clip or full-length program from the Web. The survey, which examined online video trends and usage habits among 1,347 online video users, further revealed that 32 percent of online video users say they watch more online video today than they did one year ago.

Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of online video users would prefer to watch an ad before a video in order to watch the video for free, while 23 percent say they'd rather pay for ad-free videos. Most frequently viewed videos include:

-- News: 72 percent

-- Television or movie clips: 59 percent

-- Music videos: 48 percent

-- Sports highlights: 44 percent

-- Amateur videos: 43 percent

-- Concert highlights: 23 percent

-- Full-length movies or TV shows: 22 percent

-- Live sporting events: 17 percent

-- Video podcasts: 17 percent

-- Live concerts: 9 percent

"There's no question that online video usage is growing faster than most predicted, particularly as more diverse, appealing and high quality branded video content is being made available on the Web," said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President of AOL. "As more and more Web users adopt broadband, demand for online video of all types, including news, music videos and concerts, TV and movies, sports highlights, and user generated video mash-ups will continue to grow at a very fast pace."

Top-line survey findings also include:

-- More than two-thirds (69 percent) of online video viewers say they find videos they want to watch by browsing the Web. Meanwhile, 61 percent hear about videos from friends and 58 percent regularly visit a roster of favorite video sites. Thirty-seven percent use search engines to find videos and 36 percent learn about videos from magazines or TV.

-- Those with a high-speed Internet connection are more likely than dial-up access users to watch video online (46 percent vs. 22 percent). Men (48 percent vs. 32 percent of women), adults ages 18-34 (48 percent) and urbanites (46 percent) are most likely to watch video online at least once a week.

-- Women over age 45 are more likely to watch more video today than they were one year ago as compared to men of the same age (32 percent vs. 20 percent). At the same time, online video users under age 35 are more likely to watch more video today than those over age 35 (38 percent vs. 28 percent).

-- More than half (54 percent) of online video viewers prefer to watch their videos on their computer monitor, while 37 percent say they would rather watch online videos on a television connected to their computer.

-- Nearly ten percent (7 percent) of online video users prefer to watch videos on a portable device, such as a PDA or mp3 player. Fully 13 percent of adults ages 18-29 favor watching videos on a portable device, more than any other age category.

-- One in ten online video users say that now that they can watch video online, they watch less television. Eighty-seven percent of online video viewers say their television viewing habits remain unchanged by the proliferation of online video.

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Survey Methodology

Interviewing for the AP-AOL Video Survey was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs by telephone July 27-30, August 1-3 and August 7-9, 2006 among a sample of 3,003 adults age 18 and older, including 1,347 online video users. The margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points for all adults. For online video users, the margin of error is +/- 2.5 percentage points.

About the Associated Press

The Associated Press is the world's oldest and largest newsgathering organization, providing content to more than 15,000 news outlets with a daily reach of 1 billion people around the world. Its multimedia services are distributed by satellite and the Internet to more than 120 nations. For more information, visit www.ap.org.

About AOL LLC

AOL and its subsidiaries operate a leading network of Web brands and the largest Internet access subscription service in the United States. Web brands include the AOL.com(R) website, AIM(R), MapQuest(R) and Netscape(R). AOL offers a range of digital services in the areas of education, safety and security, communications and music. The company also has operations in Europe and Canada. AOL LLC is a majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and is based in Dulles, Virginia.