The number of video streams at BarackObama.com increased 155% in August, from 502,000 in July to 1.3 million, and JohnMcCain.com for the first time attracted a majority female viewership, according to (pdf) Nielsen Online data.
The number of unique viewers for Obama increased 173%, from 302,000 in July to 824,000 in August, the month of the Democratic National Convention.
Video viewing at John McCain’s Web site also increased, though more modestly: Video streams increased 16%, from one million to 1.2 million, while unique viewers increased 5%, from 452,000 to 475,000.
The Palin Effect?
For the first time, women comprised more than half of video viewers at JohnMcCain.com, with 58% in August. The selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s vice-presidential running mate late in the month may have drawn new women viewers.
Women made up 63% of viewers at Barack Obama’s site in August.
“There’s no doubt that the addition of Sarah Palin to the McCain ticket has sparked a lot of interest across the political spectrum, especially among women,” said Jon Gibs, vice-president of media analytics, Nielsen Online. “The question that remains for both candidates is whether web visitors and online video viewers will translate into votes in the general election in November.”
US Online Video Usage
Nielsen Online also provided overall online video usage and top brands ranked by video streams for August 2008:
While some metrics were flat or down slightly, the time spent per person viewing online video increased nearly 8% from July to August.
