Glam, which claims to have the largest female audience on the web through its network of publishers, hasn't shied away from video by any stretch. But neither has it tackled video head-on the way Break.com has. In essence, both companies are gender-specific ad networks. But where Break focuses heavily on video content, Glam's publishers lean toward blogs that are heavy with text and pictures.
According to Trimble, that disparity could change as more of its publishers syndicate video content from the flagship site under the recently launched GlamTV Platform.
If you post it, will she watch?
While the mechanics of GlamTV may look a lot like those employed by Break.com and its network of publishers, it's hard to say that men and women are created equally when it comes to the kind of content they watch.
"I almost hate to say it, but men will probably watch just about anything," jokes Danny Fishman, president of Broadband Enterprises.
For Fishman, whose company doesn't prefer one gender over the other in its pitch to advertisers, the gender gap is a direct result of early forays into online video.
"Initially there was a lot of junk online," Fishman says. "Now, we're producing better videos that are going to appeal to a broader audience. So, today the audience overall skews only slightly male."
While Fishman's assessment jibes with comScore's numbers, his take on the gender gap may highlight a larger hurdle for online -- quality content.
A woman knows
By all accounts, online video has reached something of a plateau. While a ton of low-quality user generated content defines the landscape, islands of professional videos are making inroads. In the grand scheme of things, that evolution matters because it will likely be a spike in quality, not scalability, that will attract brand advertisers to a medium that's being co-defined by ideals from both Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
If Fishman is correct that men likely have a lower basis for quality when it comes to video, then women, not men, will be the ones to watch to see if the medium can compete with other platforms for serious ad dollars.
So far, the future looks good for online video. According to a Nielsen Online study from earlier this year, men outpace women on YouTube, which is the dominant video platform. But what was surprising about the Nielsen numbers was the fact that women between the ages of 18 and 34 are twice as likely as their male counterparts to watch TV streamed on the web.
That's good news for Glam, which is betting that its audience will likely discard the rubbish that litters the web in favor of premium content delivered online. To that end, Glam distributes content from E! Online, Lifetime and Sony BMG's Myplay.com across its network of more than 500 publishers. According to Trimble, Glam's early work with professional video producers has both found its audience and presented opportunities for engagement.
However, even Glam points out that some user-generated content will likely never go away, even among women. Trimble, who touts the virtues of a professional content in terms of driving audience and attracting ad dollars, concedes that publishers will need to mix in enough user-generated content to find an appropriate balance.
As for the gender gap, the primary enemy for online video seems to be one of perception. Audience equality and increased consumption by females may mean that online video has matured, but if marketers still insist that the average user of online video is a young man with a taste for edgy, and at times inappropriate content, ad dollars likely won't follow eyeballs anytime soon.
Michael Estrin is deputy editor at iMediaConnection.