Nearly 70% of Canadians 18+ watch YouTube at least monthly, according to new research from Media Technology Monitor (MTM), with one third of its users viewing content on the site at least once a week.
That is up sharply from 57% in fall 2011, with adoption of the streaming video site showing no sign of slowing.
The Google-owned property is by far the leading choice for online video viewing, with the second most popular streaming video site, Vimeo, used by just 15% of Canadians. Vevo is the third most used video site at 12%.
It is especially popular among younger Canadians, with 96% of people 18-25 having watched a video on the site in the past month, along with 92% of students. The site is also popular with Gen X-ers (80%) and baby boomers (59%), and is also accessed by 21% of people 70 and over.
MTM describes the video site as a “dedicated site” for online listening, with 36% of viewers sharing a YouTube video on social media, 33% liking a video, and 23% subscribing to a channel.
In addition, 68% of YouTube users also use the site as a personalized audio service, with three of every five people who listen to music doing so at least once a week and 13% doing so several times a day.
Nearly one fifth (18%) of YouTube users say they access the site several times a day, while an additional 24% of respondents say they access it once a day or almost every day.
The computer is the device of choice for YouTube viewing sessions, with 73% of people saying that is their preferred device for watching. However, 63% of Canadians say they access YouTube via their smartphone or tablet.
Nearly half of Canadians (48%) say they access YouTube via a single device, while 32% use two devices and 14% say they use three devices.
How-to videos are among the most popular content on the site, with two thirds of Canadians saying they have accessed a video of this type. MTM also finds 26% of Canadians have watched a full episode of a TV show and 19% have watched a full-length movie.
YouTube’s users are more likely to be passive users, with only one in eight users posting a video to the site.
In its recent report Social Advertising Effectiveness Scorecard: Industry Execs Grade the Leading Platforms, research firm eMarketer says while some experts predict Facebook’s entry into video advertising could steal market share away from YouTube, its research suggests otherwise.
Executives from 29 companies gave an average grade of B+ to both Facebook and YouTube in terms of video ad effectiveness, indicating the platforms fulfill different video needs.
The MTM survey results are based on telephone interviews with 4,042 Canadians 18+ conducted by Forum Research between March 18 and May 7, and are considered accurate within plus or minus 1.5% 19 times out of 20.
