Initially, it’s nice to think that kids and teens watching more online video at home than adults is because, with work and responsibilities and all that, adults just don’t have that kind of time. But considering adults watch most of their online video at work, that half-hour less they spend at home watching belies that conventional wisdom.
A Nielsen//NetRatings report shows that kids (ages 2-11) and teens (12-17) consumed more online videos than those over 18. While adults logged in 99 minutes (44 (streams) in April from home, kids racked up 118 minutes (51 streams), and teens took in 132 minutes (74 streams)*.
“Today’s youth don’t know – or don’t remember – a time when they weren’t going online, so their adoption of online video has been seamless,” said Michael Pond, senior media analyst, Nielsen Online. “And while video consumption in the workplace increases usage metrics among adults, the ‘at home’ data show how kids and teens are driving usage and claiming their territory.
“The Web provides another platform for their interest in TV shows, toys, movies and music, and offers an interactive element that children especially enjoy. Among the top sites for the younger demographic we see publishers that are integrating video into games, music and other content to drive engagement with this multi-media generation.”
What interests the age groups is, unsurprisingly, different. Younger kids check out toy-related and TV-related content most often, while teens focus more on music videos and movie trailers.
The top-drawing sites among kids and teens are no doubt sites you’ve heard of, and in some cases stretch across age barriers. YouTube, Disney, and MySpace, for example, are favorites among both age groups, bringing large numbers of both. The sites with the largest kid audiences are as follows:
- YouTube
- DisneyChannel.com
- Nick
- Disney.com
- MySpace
- NickJr
- Buena Vista Online Entertainment
- Cartoon Network
- Playhouse Disney
- Google Video
Among teens, the largest audiences belong to:
- YouTube
- MySpace.com
- NABBR
- Google Video
- Photobucket
- Apple
- DisneyChannel.com
- Veoh
- Metacafe
Some video sites, while not claiming necessarily the largest audience, boast high concentrations of the particular demographics. For kids aged 2-11, you’re likely to find many of them hanging out at:
- DisneyRecords
- EverythingGirl.com
- MyePets
- JETIX
- Playhouse Disney
- PBS Kids
- LEGO
- NickJr
- Barbie
- Nick
For the 12-17 age group, they’re likely haunting:
- Stickam
- Buzznet.com
- Atlantic Records
- Epic Records
- Bebo
- Funnyjunk.com
- NABBR
- GamesRadar
- Paramount Films
- Photobucket
Still, this is only a couple hours – the length of a movie or a Family Guy marathon – per month. When I was ten years old, I could tell you what was on at least eight channels between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. I was a walking TV Guide, an idiot savant without the savant part.
