Online Video Audience Climbs to Nearly Half of All Americans

Online video penetration is up in the United States, with 48 percent of Americans now using the Internet as a vehicle for media consumption.

Nielsen's cross-platform report for the second quarter of 2011 claims Internet viewing is now at a monthly average of 4 hours and 26 minutes per month, a 15 percent increase from 2010.  

In fact, all vehicles for viewing have seen an increase, even in traditional TV watching.

On average, Americans watch an additional 2 hours 43 minutes of television per month than they did in 2010. This is thanks in large part to substantial growth in time-shifted content from DVR and on demand playback. Delayed viewing jumped 31 percent since Q2 of 2009.

Traditional TV viewership stands at 97 percent, with 72 percent paying for cable/broadband combined subscription -- a year-over-year growth of almost 7 percent.

Geographically, New Orleans now watches more primetime television than other U.S. city. Dallas has the highest DVR penetration.

The weakest platform for viewing remains mobile devises, with only 10 percent of the U.S. using them to watch video.