Hulu=TV, Netflix=Movies, Video Stream Future?

A combination of recent Nielsen reports underscores the growing segmentation of online video sites.  More specifically Hulu seems to be dominating TV streaming while Netflix is doing the same for movies.  How differentiated are the segments?  Consider the following:

73% of Hulu’s users report watching TV shows versus just 11% of Netflix users.  Compared to Netflix, Hulu has double the number of unique viewers with 13,505 to Netflix’s 7,976.  Netflix also significantly pales in comparison to the number of streams.  Hulu streams more than 3 times the number that Netflix streams.

On the other hand; 53% of Netflix users report viewing movies to only 9% Hulu user. The result is the Netflix has a clear advantage in e time per viewer difference.  Netflix viewers averaged 8 hours and 34 minutes of computer/laptop video content.  Hulu time per view was 3 hours 34 minutes.

Of course Netflix and Hulu are just two vendors in a growing video streaming marketplace.  YouTube is the dominant generalist with user-generated content fueling their unique viewer leadership.  But in time per viewer You Tube lags both Netflix and Hulu with 2 hours 37 minutes.

Why do we care about time spent viewing?  In the ad world time spent translates into opportunity to build frequent ad exposures.  Nielsen also recently reported stronger than average recall for online ads compared to TV ads.   As the business models for online video evolves, they are likely to reflect the positive time spent (meaning more ad inventory) and strong recall.  The differentiation in segments is likely to matter most in ad inventory and pricing.  And of course; ultimately revenue.