News
Obama inauguration drives online usage
The US presidential Inauguration Day on January 20 saw increased online video streaming activity, especially during Barack Obama's oath of office and inaugural address. Compared to the baseline period of a week before, the number of unique video viewers increased 45% to 13 million, while the number of videos viewed grew 33% to 49.5 million and total minutes spent viewing video climbed 129 percent to 190 million, according to commScore.
The top three cable TV news sites, MSNBC.com, CNN.com, and FoxNews.com, attracted a disproportionate increase in the number of viewers compared to the Internet at large. The 4.1 million viewers who watched video on those sites during the 12-1 PM EST hour represented a 14-fold increase from the previous Tuesday.
"Online video coverage of President Obama's inauguration appears to represent a significant incremental audience to TV, since it presumably includes many people at work who did not have access to a TV," said Tania Yuki, senior product manager for comScore Video Metrix.
"As such, the 13 million online viewers during this time period likely represent an addition to the reported 40 million people who viewed the inauguration on TV. And, that so much of this online audience flocked to the Web sites of the major cable TV news outlets reflects a direct channel shift from TV to the Internet."
"Although numerous online video sites carried live streaming coverage of the inauguration, 30% of those who watched online gravitated toward the cable TV news sites," added Yuki. "Much like TV, people have a tendency to tune into specific channels when they are consuming a certain type of content."
Rise in Online Video Viewing on Inauguration Day between 12-1 PM EST |
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12:00 - 1:00 PM EST |
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Jan. 13, 2009 |
Jan. 20, 2009 |
Percent Change |
|
Unique Viewers (000) |
8,945 |
13,004 |
45% |
Videos Viewed (000) |
37,107 |
49,523 |
33% |
Total Minutes (000) |
82,954 |
189,739 |
129% |
Increase in Number of Online Videos Viewers on Inauguration Day
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Unique Viewers (000) - 12:00 - 1:00 PM EST |
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Jan. 13, 2009 |
Jan. 20, 2009 |
Percent Change |
|
Total U.S. Internet |
8,945 |
13,004 |
45% |
Top 3 Cable News Sites* |
277 |
4,138 |
1390% |
*MSBNC.com, CNN.com and FoxNews.com
30/01/2009
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