Market intelligence firm eMarketer on Tuesday delivered some bad news for tablet and smartphone makers and some good news for PC manufacturers, in reporting government figures that indicate PCs are the device of choice for accessing online video in China.
That's a big market of people for PCs since the story said the government-sanctioned China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) estimates there were 350 million online video watchers in the country as of June 2012. If you're looking for a measuring stick, the story further points out that this is about 40 million more people than the entire U.S. population.
Part of the reason the Chinese might be moving to PCs for their video is that the government has put limits on popular TV shows while emphasizing its own official programs. It could also be that there are just plain more PCs in the country than other IP-connected devices.
Anyway, adding fuel to the raging fire, a local research firm, the Data Center of China Internet (DCCI) reported that the PC is "by far the most popular device among online video viewers in the country" with more than 40 percent of online video viewers spending 20-plus hours per week watching videos on PCs. This compares to 20.9 percent of viewers who watched 20 or more hours of video on TV, the story continued.
Online video purveyors aren't missing the trend, either, according to The Finance. The merged Youku/Todou, Sohu and Aiyi are "battling to produce new content and license existing video content, including TV shows and movies from the West," the story said.
Then there's video advertising (and who could forget how the bills are paid?). DCCI, the story said, expects online video ad spending to nearly double in the country, spiking from $523.2 million in 2011 to $964.4 million in 2012.
For more:
- read the eMarketer article
- see this Finance story
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