ADOPTED BUT NOT VIABLE: ONLINE VIDEO ...

UNIUYO Journal of Communication Studies, UJCS

Vol. 1, No. 1, April 2017

ADOPTED BUT NOT VIABLE: ONLINE VIDEO VIEWERSHIP AND COMMERCIAL VIABILITY AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN LAGOS STATE

Oludare Ebenezer Ogunyombo Abstract The advancement in information and communication technology has continuously shaped the mass media. This convergence has led to innovations such as videos posted online, which hitherto were watched on television. Major adopters of these innovations are the youths who have been generally adjudged to be technologically savvy. In view of other studies around the world, this paper examined the pattern of viewership of online videos among young people in Nigeria using university students in Lagos state as the population. Using a survey method, a 13 item questionnaire was administered among 383 students in two purposively selected universities. 327 copies of the questionnaire representing 83.4% return rate were analysed. Findings from the study revealed that majority of the respondents (90.1%) watch online videos although 56.7% only do so occasionally. YouTube is the main platform for watching online videos which are mostly musical and movie videos that are to a large extent accessed on the smart phones of the youths. However, it was found out that a significant percentage of the respondents (41%) may not be willing to pay for online video contents thus posing a threat to the commercial viability of this medium for content producers. Thus, the paper recommended that further studies should be conducted into factors that may be responsible for the lack of interest in paying for online contents and the non-regular viewership of online videos among young people with the aim of increasing its commercial viability. Introduction Trends in modern communication are fast turning Marshal McLuhan’s projection that the world will at a point become a global village into a cliché. Scholars and professionals have so much tread the path of McLuhan’s technological determinism theory that splinters from the various adaptations and interpretations have become a common place. Sufficient to note that apparently what McLuhan’s witnessed in terms of technological advancement that impacted on his proposition of the theory was a tip of the iceberg because information and communication technology has long left the shores of his projection waters, although still riding in the boat of his courageous anticipation. Today, one cannot but think of the advancement in human communication as having been positively (or otherwise) impacted by technology. From Graham Bell’s invention of the telephony system to Gutenberg’s invention of mass printing press and the first radio and television broadcast, the world has not ceased to witness advancement in the media of mass communication. A major invention that has impacted this course of advancement in technology is the creation of the World Wide Web (www) enabled by an advanced internet connectivity. One of the major innovations that have been enhanced by these technologies is the online video. Until recently, videos were generally played and viewed at home on the television screens usually placed at a conspicuous corner in the living room. However, today videos can be accessed from any part of the world online using any mobile device enabled by the internet. Once you have internet data on your device, you are good to go. The social media and other online platforms are agog with these videos.

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Major adopters of the online videos are the young people. Young people are generally agreed to be very active in adopting technological innovations. Due to the proliferation and the seemingly voracious rate at which they have diffused, adopted and consume online video contents, Madden (as cited in the Pew Research, 2007) agreed that young adults are among the most contagious carriers when it comes to understanding how viral videos propagate online. The study showed that younger users are the most eager and active contributors to the online video orb because they comment and share the videos they see online. With this hindsight and in view of contributing to the limited literature specifically in the areas of online video viewership among young people in Nigeria, it would be of interest to understand the pattern of viewership among the youths in Nigeria. Findings from this study will push the frontiers of new media adoption in Nigeria and be of relevance to the activities of advertisers and other socio-political agents who might want to explore this medium to connect with their various audiences. Statement of the Problem Young people have been found to be leading adopters of technological innovations. According to Chappuis, Duncan and Neruda (2013), youths are leading in terms of digital compliance. The youth lead digital lives distinct from older people. They are almost twice as likely to own portable digital devices as older people and they lead in adopting new services such as video chat, social media for many types of communication and on-demand video (p. 27). Baran (2013) also agreed that young people spend quite a lot of time online, including watching or downloading videos. Apparently, as observed, these assertions explain the navigation of media contents producers, advertisers and socio-political agents towards propagating their course on the platform. Several studies have been conducted on youths and the new media in Nigeria. However, as at the time of this study, there is limited literature that examine viewership of online videos among young people in Nigeria. Thus, this paper seeks to explore the pattern of adoption of this technological innovation among young people in Nigeria, particularly among university students in Lagos state in terms of extent of viewership, platforms and devices for viewership and commercial prospects in this platform for content producers. Research Objectives In view of the stated problem, the objectives of this study were to: 1. examine the extent to which university students in Lagos state watch online videos; 2. ascertain the platform(s) and devices on which university students in Lagos state watch online videos; 3. ascertain the most watched online videos among university students in Lagos state; and 4. examine the extent to which the watching of online videos among university students in Lagos state could be commercially viable for content producers and marketers. Research Questions To delineate the above objectives, the following research questions were set: 1. To what extent do university students in Lagos state watch online videos? 2. On which platform(s) and devices do university students in Lagos state watch online videos?

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3. Which online video(s) are mostly watched among university students in Lagos state? 4. To what extent can watching online videos among university students in Lagos state be commercially viable for advertisers/content producers? Advent and Adoption of Online Videos Television on the internet was slow to take off because of copyright and piracy concerns and because few viewers had sufficient bandwidth, space on the wires bringing content into people’s homes. So for several years, the most typical video fare on the net was a variety of short specialty transmissions such as movie trailers, short independent films, music videos, and news clips. But the development of increasingly sophisticated video compression software and the parallel rise of homes with broadband internet connections have changed that. Because broadband offers greater information carrying capacity (that is, it increases bandwidth), watching true television on the internet is now common (Baran, 2013 p. 214). Internet video sites Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube commission original content, with Netflix even seeking a cable channel outlet for on demand access to its programming. The first YouTube video posted was by co-founder of YouTube Mr. Jawed Karim at the San Diego zoo. It was uploaded on April 23, 2005 and has been watched nearly 10 million times (Shontell, 2013). From its short-clips era to that of long-form programming, videos on YouTube have continually improved. Attracting as few as 600,000 unique monthly visitors in 2005, today it draws nearly 160 million unique visitors who watch 4 billion videos a day and upload 60 hours of new content every minute (Baran, 2013). In Africa and indeed Nigeria, the trend is not different from what is obtainable in other parts of the world despite the challenges facing the continent. At present, there are over 50 Africa-focused Video-on-Demand platforms with more yet to be established. Most of these platforms offer online streaming of entertainment content for free with advertisements, while just a few offer these for a monthly subscription fee. Some of these platforms include: Iroko TV, Afrinolly, Ibaka TV, RealNolly TV, Reel African, Nextspeel, 9flix, BuniTV, MobileFlix, Pana TV, StreamSA Movies, Wabona among others. (Okezie, 2014) In Nigeria, some other video blogs include: Naija Boyz, What’s Up Africa, Naija Runs Girl, AY, Basket Mouth, Toke Moments e.t.c. (Kayode, 2014). Highlights of things that would shape the adoption and use of online video in Africa according to Jason Njoku, Founder of Iroko TV (Nigeria), Simbarashe Mabasha co-founder of Wabona (South Africa) and Marie Lora-Mungai, Chief Executive Officer Buni.tv (Kenya) are:  The mobile market set to hit 600 million in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020;  Increase penetration in smart phones and more affordable data;  The demand for content coupled with increasing internet access which means gives abundant opportunities for more online video services (Jackson, 2014). Young People and Online Videos Compared with consumers aged 35 to 64 years, Chappuis, Duncan and Neruda (2013) discovered that youths are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to own a smart phone, tablet internet enabled gaming console or internet video box. Similarly, the youth are 30 to 50% more likely than the elderly to go online to communicate via social networks and VOIP/video chat or access entertainment such as online and over the top video. Younger users, 76% of people aged 18-29, are the most eager and active contributors to the online

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video sphere; they comment upon and share the video they find. Madden (as cited in the Pew Research, 2007) Gibson (2015) noted that young people are significantly heavier and more frequent consumers of videos than older viewers. Citing a study by Deloitte, Gibson said that people aged under 25 (71%) are more than twice as likely to watch original digital video every day. The study also found that 40% of 16-24s watch more than 30 minutes of short form video over multiple sessions every day; 47% watch original digital videos in more than one daily session and 22% view 6 or more sessions a day. Also, smart phone viewing (31%) was stronger than tablet viewing (25%) for young people, suggesting that smart phone is driving mobile video growth. Mobile usage correlates strongly with young people’s frequency of viewing, with 60% of mobile users under 25 watching online video every day. Nielsen (2015) revealed that between 2009 and 2014, YouTube overall and even YouTube on mobile reached more 18-34 and 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in December 2014 in the US than all TV network digital video properties (full episode players) combined. YouTube accounted for 51 percent of time spent watching premium digital video in December 2014 across desktop streaming, smart phones, and tablets among key adult demographics, specifically adults 18-34 and 18-49. In Nigeria, a study by Ericson (2015) revealed that 57 percent of Nigerians (18–24 years old) want to watch TV and video content at their convenience, while 67 percent want easy access to video content across all devices. Predominantly among the younger generations, Nigerians do not want to adhere to a specific device or schedule, and seek the freedom and flexibility to choose what they watch, when they watch it, and on which device. This is made possible due to the high ownership of smart phones compared to televisions or personal computers (desktops/laptops). Theoretical Framework The diffusion of innovation and uses and gratifications theories provide logical support for this study. Rogers (2010) defines diffusion as “the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system” and innovation as “an idea, practice, or object perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption”. Thus, the diffusion of innovations theory explains the how, the why and the rate at which new ideas and technology spread through cultures. Explaining some factors that may influence the rate of innovation adoption, Young (2009) said factors such as delays in acting on information, a desire to conform, learning from others, and changes in external factors could be responsible. Other factors may include the gratification people get from the innovation, the cost involved in accessing or utilizing the innovation, the time and amount of information received among others. Summarily, some intricacies that gravitate adopter towards an innovation are: how improved the innovation is over the previous generation; the level of compatibility that an innovation has to be assimilated into an individual’s life; the complexity or otherwise of an innovation for it to be adopted by an individual; how easily an innovation may be experimented with as it is being adopted; and the extent to which an innovation is visible to others. (Rogers, 2010) The concept of the uses and gratifications theory overtime has been shaped by the advent of the new media. The theory focuses on the motives and gratifications individuals receive from choosing and using any medium of mass communication. According to the theory, the media do not do things to people rather people do things with media. In other

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words, the influence of media is limited to what people allow it to be. The viewers are goal oriented and attempt to achieve their goals through the media sources. This is encompassing the idea that people use the media to their advantage more often than the media use them. The receiver determines what is going to be absorbed and does not allow the media to influence them otherwise. Hence, it is the individual audience members who make the decision to view the media and therefore, they place the value on it by their individual decision to view it (Anaeto, Onabajo and Osifeso, 2012; Baran 2013; Uzuegbunam, 2015) With the increasing technological innovation and adoption of these innovations such as the online videos particularly among the young people, these theories provide a framework for examining the pattern of adoption and uses among them. Research Methodology For this study, a survey research method was used. The names and number of students of the two universities that were purposively selected were: University of Lagos, Akoka – 45,000; Lagos State University, Ojo – 35,000. A sample size of 383 was selected. A 13-item questionnaire was administered on the 383 respondents through a multistage sampling. 327 copies of the questionnaire representing a return rate of 83.4% were successfully returned and analysed using SPSS 15.0. Results and Discussion of Findings Of the 383 copies of the questionnaire administered, 327 representing 83.4% were analysed in this study. Findings from this research are presented and discussed in line with the research questions earlier stated. Research Question 1: To what extent do university students in Lagos State watch online videos? In response to this question, majority (90.1%) of the respondents said they watch online videos. With regards to the frequency of viewership, 56.7% of them watch online video occasionally, 29.4% watch the videos very often while 13.9% rarely do so. Regarding the number of hours spent in watching the online videos, majority of the respondents, 63.3% watch for less than 1 hour. 21.4% watch for between 2-3 hours; 8.7% between 1-2 hours, 4.4% above 4 hours while 2.2% spend between 3-4 hours. Thus, it may be concluded that to a large extent, university students in Lagos state with internet access watch online videos albeit occasionally. These findings are consistent with the result of Pew research (2007) which stated that young adults (those ages 18-29) with internet access are among the most voracious video viewers. Three in four wired young adults (76%) report online consumption of video, compared with 57% of internet users between ages 30-49. About one in three (31%) internet users ages 18-29 said they watched or downloaded some type of video in a day. However, that majority (63.3%) of the university students in Lagos state watch online videos for less than 1 hour may be of interest to online content producers. Factors responsible for this may be due to the cost of data which is still perceived to be high in Nigeria. This may also be responsible for the fact that majority of the respondents (56.7%) only watch online videos occasionally.

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Research Question 2: On which platform(s) and devices do university students in Lagos state watch online videos? Majority of the university students in Lagos state (67.5%) watch online videos on YouTube; 8.7% watch on Instagram; 7.4% on Vimeo, 6.1% on Whatsapp and 3.5% on Facebook. Regarding the most used device for accessing online videos, the smart phones remain the most used device among majority (62.4%) of students in universities in Lagos state. 32.8% would prefer to watch on their laptops; 3.5% on their desktop while 1.3% would watch through other media. Thus, it can be concluded that among university students in Lagos state, YouTube is the most preferred medium of online video viewership while the smart phone remain the most preferred device. The convenience in terms of ease of mobility of smart phones and the features which support such video post may be a factor that endears the device to young people. These findings are consistent with those conducted by Defy (as cited in Spangler 2016), Haley 2016 and Ericsson (2015). Defy in their study found out that 85% of the respondents watch videos on YouTube. Netflix came in at 66%, followed by TV (62%), Facebook (53%), Instagram (37%), Snapchat (33%), Vine (27%), Hulu (22%), Amazon Video (19%) and Twitter (19%). Also, Haley (2016) revealed that among 18-24, 35.1% watch online videos on their desktop; 47.8% on their smart phone and 17.2% on tablets. For respondents aged 25-34, viewership on desktop was 36%, smart phone for 42% and tablet for 22%. In Nigeria, Ericsson (2015) in an expanded study showed that around 50% of the total time spent consuming video is on smart phones and laptops. This implies that content consumption is no longer tied to a specific access technology, such as the traditional TV screen. Thus, comparatively, smart phones were the most popular online video viewing device. Research Question 3: Which online video(s) are mostly watched among university students in Lagos state? Results from the responses showed that 32.2% watch musical video while another 32.6% will watch movie videos. Another 15.9% of the respondents prefer to watch sports videos, 10.6% educational videos while 4% will watch health videos and the remaining 4.9% will watch other forms of online videos. With this result, it can be concluded that movie and musical videos are the most watched among young people in the universities in Lagos state. The entertainment value of the musical and movie videos may be the gratification young people receive thus resulting in their high viewership of musical and movie videos. These findings are also consistent with that of Gibson (2015) that entertainment was the strongest reason that young people under 25 years (95%) watch online videos which they described as funny, surprising/exciting and crazy/weird. Research Question 4: To what extent can watching online videos among university students in Lagos state be commercially viable for content producers? Enquiring if the respondents in this study would buy the compact disc of an interesting video they watched freely online, 51.1% said they would buy while 48.9% said they would not. In the instance that content producers decide to sell/request for subscriptions for their video contents online, 59% of the students said they would pay to view while 41% said they will not. These findings should be of interest to online video content producers since venturing into such initiative is aimed at generating revenue. The 48.9% of the respondents that would not buy the CDs and the 41% that would not pay to view videos online are quite significant to any potential advertiser/producers in view of the cost of production and the quest for profit in posting such online videos.

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The percentage (59%) of university students in Lagos state that would pay for online video contents is consistent with the findings of Ericsson (2015) that 58% of TV and media users in Nigeria prefer to pay once and choose their content as monthly subscriptions are the most favoured option. They concluded that consumers feel that good-quality content on the internet is expensive. They have a low preference for paying for content separately, but might be inclined to pay for high-quality content in a bundle. This finding serves as a poser to advertisers/content producers because to what extent they may be willing to continue to post their materials free of charge online in view of economic sustainability remains an area of interest. Summary and Conclusion From this study, the assumptions of the diffusion of innovation and the uses and gratification theory were established because it may be concluded that there is a high level of adoption and use of online video among majority of the respondents. Entertainment appears to be the most gratifying factor for online video viewership among the respondents because of the choice of majority along the lines of musical and movie videos. The smart phones are the most used devices in accessing the online videos which are mostly viewed on YouTube platform. However, that a significant percentage 48.9% and 41% will not buy CD or pay to view online videos respectively pose some threat to the economic viability of this media for the content producers. It may be concluded that the commercial viability of this medium among young people is below average. Hence, content producers may be interested in examining factors responsible for the potential low patronage with the aim of expanding the commercial viability of this medium. Recommendations In view of these, it is recommended that:  A study should be conducted to understand the factors that are responsible for lack of interest in subscribing/paying for online videos among young people to provide insights for content producers;  A study should be conducted to address factors responsible for the non-regular viewership of online videos among young people since only 29.4% watch very often;  Advertisers should consider exploring the online musical and movie videos to showcase their products, targeting at this audience demographic.

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