More than 130 million unique US viewers tuned into a total of nearly 9.7 billion online video streams in March 2009, a 1.9% month-over-month viewer increase from February, according to topline video-census data released by Nielsen Online.
Nielsen also reports that the number of total video streams in March climbed to 9.7 billion, an 8.7% increase from 8.9 billion in February. The number of total streams per viewer was also up 6.7% to 74.4, from 69.7% in February, as was the average time per viewer, which jumped 12.6%, to 190.7 minutes.
Top 10 Video Streaming Brands
Not surprisingly, the Google-owned YouTube brand ranks #1 in terms of video streams served (5.48 billion) and unique viewers (89 million), while Hulu is in the #2 spot, with 348 million video streams and 8.9 million unique viewers. Yahoo, which has more unique viewers than Hulu but has less total streams, ranks at #3, while Fox Interactive Media and the Nickelodeon Kids and Family Network round out the top 5.
About the research: Nielsen Online’s VideoCensus combines patented panel and census research methodologies to provide a count of viewing activity and engagement A unique viewer is anyone who viewed at least one video stream during the month. A stream is a program segment. VideoCensus measurement does not include video advertising.
