With YouTube becoming the biggest ‘thing’ on the net, you would expect the distribution channel to grow and grow. But not last April. When the fresh TV episodes returned after the writers’ strike last winter, online video viewing fell 4.2%.

In the US, about 11 billion videos were viewed in April, down from 11.5 billion the month before. Because when ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘House’ returned, millions of people left their computers for dead, to return to their loved TV Sets.

135 million people (down from 139 million in March) watched an average of 82 videos. That’s 71% of the online audience, with about 228 minutes per viewer.

I reckon that’s the time the average person spends watching TV in a day. Maybe online video isn’t yet such a big threat as some make it out to be?

Blockbuster is launching a strange pilot to test in-store kiosks with downloadable movies. I say strange, since I thought the benefit of downloading was you didn’t have to get out of your chair. But that’s why it’s a pilot I suppose. Blockbuster still has to negotiate the deals with the studios and the movies currently only work with Archos devices. But if the demand is there, it wouldn’t be too difficult to fix these two problems.

I just wonder if there’s a market for this service. You would say the kind of high tech person interested in doing this, would have a high speed internet connection at home. Other people will take the DVD rental instead. I don’t think this is going to solve Blockbuster’s ‘iTunes problem.’

No, this isn’t some kind of ad, but a pretty cool initiative nonetheless. Did you think you were getting good deals at iTunes? Think again. Jaman.com is currently offering free high-def downloads for full movies. Instead of paying you will now be served a (video) ad, a format that’s more suitable for the internet in my opinion.

Ok, you won’t be watching ‘Iron Man’ for free in HD anytime soon, but if you are into classics or indies, this is definitely something to check out. For example, here you can stream Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in the 1963 hit ‘Charade.’

A great idea. You have the choice to pay or watch the ads. Unlike TV, where you have to watch the ads. And not like iTunes either, where you have to pay for your movies. Let’s just hope it’s all sustainable and sets an example for future endeavors.