Exploring online video watching behaviors

Abstract

Laptop and desktop computers are frequently used to watch online videos from a wide variety of services. From short YouTube clips, to television programming, to full-length films, users are increasingly moving much of their video viewing away from television sets towards computers. But what are they watching, and when? We set out to understand current video use on computers through analyzing full browsing histories from a diverse set of online Americans, finding some temporal differences in genres watched, yet few differences in the length of videos watched by hour. We also explore topics of videos, how users arrive at online videos through referral links, and conclude with several implications for the design of online video services that focus on the types of content people are actually watching online.