According to Hub Research, 76% of viewers watch every week, and 53% of 16-24-year-olds watch every day, with the average online video viewer spending more than eight hours per week watching this type of content.

“As an entertainment category, online video is thriving, offering viewers massive amounts of content, highly targeted genres and sub-genres, and bite-sized formats making it easy to watch on the go — all of which has made the category immensely popular with the types of young consumers advertisers covet,” the research noted.

Short-form options and mobile availability mean consumers can watch anytime, anywhere. This is especially borne out by the fact that 57% of viewing is unplanned, with consumers stopping whatever else they’re doing to watch a video pushed to them.

Further, the time spent watching online video tends to be time consumers would otherwise spend watching traditional TV. Nearly four in ten (37%) say they watch less TV now than before they started watching online video. Predictably, among millennials 18-34, the impact is even greater: close to half (46%) say they’re watching less TV because of online video viewing.

“Online video serves up entertainment and information in ways that directly address viewers’ needs,” said Peter Fondulas, principal at Hub and one of the authors of the study. “And in three areas in particular, consumers feel online video does a better job than traditional TV: shorter formats, more inventive treatments, and genres that are micro-targeted to match interests.”

All that said, Hub noted that traditional media players can still find opportunity in this brave new world. Almost half (48%) said they would have a positive reaction if one of their favourite online video personalities signed with an established entertainment company, vs. just 11% with a negative reaction.

And 34% say they’re more interested in watching online videos from “familiar media companies like TV networks,” compared with 14% who prefer videos from independent people with no industry connection.

“In spite of the competitive challenge, maybe the most interesting thing about this study is the opportunity that exists for traditional media companies,” said Jon Giegengack of Hub. “It’s often assumed that the independence of online video creators from 'big media’ is a big reason for their popularity. But these findings suggest that things like greater creativity and highly specialised genres matter more. And in fact, viewers are very open to their 'stars’ partnering with traditional entertainment companies if those qualities stay intact."