Study: Fast growth for online video is shifting to TV, movies

The number of people in the U.S. watching online video has steadily risen over the past few years - but that's about to slow as the number of viewers starts to reach a saturation point. Research firm eMarketer projects that 77 percent of Internet users in 2014 will be watching online video content as least monthly.

As that happens, the trends become more specific. For example, downloading and streaming full-length movies saw a dramatic increase between September 2008 and October 2009, more than doubling in that time frame. That sort of jump suggests that longer-length videos - presumably TV shows and full-length movies - are on faster growth tracks than online viewing as a whole.

What are the forces at work? EMarketer explains:

One factor behind the turn toward long-form content is the success of Hulu, which The Nielsen Company ranked second to YouTube in overall video streams viewed in April 2010. In addition, the increase in Internet-enabled TV sets and other viewing devices supports the trend.In-Stat expects US shipments of Web-enabled devices that support TV applications to increase from 14.6 million this year to 83.4 million by 2014.

Demographics also play a key role. The highest penetration of online video viewing is the 18-34 age group, which is expected to have a penetration rate of more than 90 percent by 2014. This same group is also most receptive to TV content online, the study found.

As these groups grow older, they'll be accustomed to watching TV content online and - thanks to a new generation of devices that will make online viewing even easier - those numbers will continue to flourish.