Hmm, could be a slight obstacle to this new 'make money by placing ads alongside YouTube videos' strategy that Google's just announced. Well, kind of.
Harris Interactive has been conducting some research into YouTube, and claims that nearly three quarters of adults who frequently visit the site would visit it a lot (31%) or a little (42%) less if it included short commercials before every video on the site.
Ouch. Although in fairness, Google hasn't said that this is how it plans to include advertising on YouTube. Harris says broadcasters can get away more with this form of advertising, as there are different expectations from users.
Meanwhile, the top-line numbers from Harris' survey are more positive for Google. 42% of US internet users have watched a video at YouTube, while 14% visit the site frequently. Of these, 32% say they are watching less traditional TV as a result.
Interestingly, YouTube is also cutting into social networking time, with 20% of frequent users saying they spend less time doing that as a result. Naturally, among 18-24 year-olds, YouTube is even more popular, with 76% saying they've watched a video at the site, and 41% visiting it frequently.