Writers' strike boosting online video

11 January 2008

The ongoing strike by the Writers Guild of America is contributing to a dramatic upsurge in online video, according to Neilsen Online.

The net analysis firm says that since the strike began in October 2007, traffic to the video-sharing site YouTube has risen by 18%. The effect is even more dramatic for newer sites such as Crackle, which has experienced a doubling in visits from 1.2 million in September and October, up to 2.4 million in November and December.

"That is greater growth than you would normally see in such a short period and the strike could be a possible factor," Nielsen analyst Alex Burmaster told BBC News.

The surge in traffic comes at the end of a year of significant growth in visitors and traffic for online video sharing sites. Analysis by Pew Internet & American Life Project suggests that 48% of internet users had watched a video online by the end of December 2007, up from 33% at the end of 2006.

The organisation adds that the traffic to video-sharing sites has doubled over the past year.

Category: Social media, Video sharing