Online video content is ubiquitous. With the advent of Google TV, Hulu.com and popular video sharing sites like YouTube, video advertising is now the fastest growing ad format online. To put things into perspective, over 24 hours of video content is uploaded to YouTube every minute, and in April 2010, 30.3 billion videos were watched online in the US alone. That’s a lot of video, and according to eMarketer.com and Cisco.com there is only more to come.

eMarketer has predicted growth in online video of 40% by the end of 2010. Parallel to this, advertisers are expected to invest significant spend in the medium. In fact, a survey from video advertising network BrightRoll indicated that “94% of agency executives planned to spend more on online video in Q1 2010 than the prior year. That proportion was seven percentage points higher than in Q1 2009, showing that agencies are only getting more involved in the space.” 

So why all the investment? One reason is their satisfaction with online video’s performance. More than one half of respondents considered video more effective than other forms of advertising, and 83% claimed they were getting more value for their video advertising dollars than a year ago. According to BrightRoll CEO Tod Sacerdoti, “Online video underwent a cycle of massive innovation in 2009, and has matured into a highly effective platform for advertisers to connect with their target audiences online.” In addition, online video’s biggest liability in 2009 - targeting capabilities - is now viewed as its greatest asset. More than six in 10 agency execs said behavioural targeting had upped their video ad performance.

If you don’t believe me, I’ll bet you’ll believe this fancy flash graph embedded below, complements of Cisco’s Visual Networking Index. The graph measures various video metrics leading up to 2014:

Click on the image above to view the Cisco VNI Forecast data. Image Credit: Cisco Visual Networking Index

Here are some more interesting stats from the report:

• Internet video is now over one third of all consumer Internet traffic, and will approach 40% of consumer Internet traffic by the end of 2010, not including the amount of video exchanged through P2P file sharing.

• Real-time video is growing in importance. By 2014, Internet TV will be over 8% of consumer Internet traffic, and ambient video will be an additional 5% of consumer Internet traffic. Live TV has gained substantial ground in the past few years. Globally, P2P TV is now over 280 petabytes per month.

• Video-on-demand (VoD) traffic will double every two and a half years through 2014. Consumer IPTV and CATV traffic will grow at a 33% CAGR between 2009 and 2014.

Online video is an exciting space. With augmented reality, Internet TV, HD and 3D, there is a lot to look forward to in the world of video advertising, so prepare for more content and more innovation.

Also check out:

• Friday Fact Box - Online Video 2009
• Video: the New Model