Britain's online video habit: three web clips per day

Here's a finding that, while inevitable, is sure to raise the blood pressure of your typical ISP executive -- and your boss. Our daily online video habit is reaching a staggering proportion.

According to Comscore, Americans viewed 11.5 billion (yes, billion...with a b) videos in March, or an average of 83 videos for every American who ventured online last month. The most recent tally for the UK is even greater, Comscore says. In December, Britons watched 3.1 billion videos, or 108 videos per UK net user.

Assuming an average video length of two minutes, you are talking about more than 103 million hours spent (some may say "wasted") in front of the computer watching YouTube and, for a week at least, the BBC iPlayer (the iPlayer launched on Christmas Day klast year).

It would be interesting to see Comscore's most recent numbers, which will reveal the iPlayer's contribution to our video-snacking habit. It will also no doubt trigger more howls of protest from the likes of Tiscali and Sky, who see the iPlayer as the biggest threat to their business.

In the US, YouTube is the dominant player, Comscore reports. The video-sharing behemoth has 38 per cent of the market (by videos viewed; 51 per cent if you count unique viewers) and its audience is growing.