Online viewers of television and other video content are increasingly willing to put up with advertising to get their programs and movies for free, a survey shows.
However, they also are slightly less likely to link through to an advertiser’s Web site to learn more about a product or service.
The study is a clear indication that free is currency of choice on the Internet. It suggests that consumers are becoming more accepting of ads after initially being turned aside by the prospect of ads cluttering videos on sites such as Google’s YouTube.
According to the study conducted by Knowledge Networks and reported by eMarketer, 80 percent of people viewing television online now say they prefer ads in exchange for unpaid programming, compared with 67 percent in 2006.
Similarly, 37 percent said they watched videos with pre-roll ads, an increase from 2006.
However, fewer viewers now forward ads to others and only 25 percent clicked through to n advertiser’s Web site.
That means they are probably less effective.
