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In February, I wrote a post here on the Newstex blog called Statistics Show Video is an Essential Element of Websites, where I cited findings from several different studies stating 88% of the online audience is expected to watch online videos by 2012. That's a lot of people, and website and blog owners should definitely consider adding video to their online content in order to be positioned to satisfy that growing demand from online consumers.Today, I came across another interesting study via eMarketer that makes the case for adding subtitles to your online videos.  According to the new study from Plymedia Inc (a company that provides contextual subtitling for video), subtitles increase the amount of time respondents watched online videos by 40%.  Furthermore, respondents watched online videos to 91% completion when subtitles were included, but only watched to 66% completion when subtitles were not included.

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Why such a big discrepancy?  The reason is at least partially attributed to online video consumption habits.  For example, if people watch online videos at work (when they shouldn't be),they are likely to have the volume turned down or muted.  Alternately, parents trying to watch an online video while their baby naps nearby might need to turn the volume down or mute it.  Subtitles come in really handy during times like these.The findings from the report include conclusions that make a strong case for bringing subtitles back from the dark ages of silent film.  The study also makes a case for enhanced subtitling that includes translations and more.  Sounds like an interesting trend.  Newstex does something similar already by adding full transcripts to videos included in Newstex Video On Demand.  Additionally, all videos included in Newstex Video On Demand include tags to make finding content of interest quick and easy.  Looks like we're ahead of the curve on this one!Follow the links to learn more about syndicating your online video content through Newstex Video On Demand or distributing video content to your end-user consumers through Newstex Video On Demand.