In the U.S., the amount of time spent streaming videos online is growing at a much faster rate than the number of video viewers, according to Nielsen.  Over the last three years, time spent watching video from home and work computers has more than doubled while the number of unique viewers increased 26 percent over the same period.

"The greater increase in time spent viewing compared to the number of unique viewers is likely due to an increase in the amount of video content available for viewers to watch, especially long-form content like movies and TV shows on sites like Netflix and Hulu," said Jo Holz, SVP, Client Research Initiatives, Nielsen.

During August 2011, viewers aged 18-34 accounted for nearly 40 percent of total streaming time, with males 18-34 contributing 23 percent.  Video viewers aged 35-49 made up 26 percent of total steaming time during the month, followed by viewers over the age of 50 - the largest segment of the online video population - who spent over 9 billion minutes watching, 22 percent of total streaming time from home and work computers.