The Pew Internet & American Life Project continues to produce solid trendsetting data.
The latest suggests a continued growth in online video consumption among Americans, with a majority now watching --- a near-doubling of the total to 62 per cent from 33 per cent in 2006.
"As the audience for online video continues to grow, a leading edge of internet users are migrating their viewing from their computer screens to their TV screens," Pew reports.
Daily use has reached 19 per cent, up from 8 per cent in 2006. Earlier this year it reported some decline in cable use, but a much smaller decline in Internet use, owing to economic conditions. Pew now believes some of those cable-cutters are watching online.
Particularly of interest for the traditional production industries is that movie and television show consumption is up to 35 per cent of the viewers from 16 per cent in 2006.
Consider it Version 3.0 of YouTube: The monetized version.
The video service said Thursday it had reached deals with Hollywood movie and television studios to put full-length episodes and films on the site. At the same time, Google said as YouTube's owner that it is pondering a premium content service that would charge users.
The Hollywood deal is significant because YouTube remains nearly 10 times larger than its nearest competitor, with 90 million users a month. But such services as Hulu, Joost and TV.com have preceded YouTube into the television episode space, so YouTube's foray may take time to gain a foothold.
It is not clear how Google will introduce a premium service. In an interview with the New York Times, Google CEO Eric Schmidt suggested it wouldn't be through charging for programs from the new suppliers, which include Sony, Lions Gate and MGM.
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