Akamai Study Uncovers Critical Link Between Video Quality and Audience Retention, Revenue Opportunities

Akamai Study Uncovers Critical Link Between Video Quality and Audience Retention, Revenue Opportunities

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading service provider for accelerating content and applications online, released a study today exploring two fundamental elements related to the future success of online video: consumer preferences around video consumption and consumer reaction to low-quality viewing experiences. The most compelling results reveal that, having experienced poor video performance at an Internet site, more than half of online video users would seek content from a competing Website, and a quarter would leave with a more negative brand perception and be less likely to return to the poorly performing site.

According to the study conducted by JupiterResearch, the consequences for a Website where video content underperforms are a significant loss in goodwill, return visitors and potential advertising revenues. As content owners and publishers invest seriously in broadband video as a means to increase advertising revenues, develop new revenue streams or create emotional connections with their brands (from short form clips to longer form, ‘high-definition’ video), having a technology partner that can provide stability, reliability and a consistently high quality end-user experience is critical to the success of those initiatives.

“For online publishers and marketers, online video is rapidly becoming a serious component of their business strategies. In order for these initiatives to pay off, the viewing experience must be flawless,” said Brad Rinklin, Vice President of Marketing, Akamai Technologies. “Online publishers and brands are turning to video as a way to differentiate themselves, engage more emotionally with consumers or create premium advertising products to drive more revenue. Akamai understands this, and our broadcast-quality digital media platform consistently provides exceptional viewing experiences for leading publishers so their brand is protected, audience preserved and their advertisers kept happy.”

According to the study, online video that is interrupted for buffering purposes and playback that is slow to begin are the greatest sources of frustration. Sixty percent of frequent online video users (i.e., those who watch online videos at least once per week), are less likely to return to a site for video content if the viewing experience is poor, and close to half will seek their video content from a competing Website. More than a quarter of those users went so far as to say they would be less likely to visit the poorly-performing Website again for any reason and that they would have a more negative overall perception of a site with poorly performing video content.

Read the complete Press Release