‘Charlie bit my finger’ exceeds half a billion views as new original shows go live on YouTube
Three new “Charlie Bit Me” shows starring Harry, Charlie and younger brother Jasper go live on YouTube
Viewing statistics highlight a dramatic shift to watching video on mobile devices
London, England(07 Dec 2012)
Leading management and marketing company, Viral Spiral, which connects hit viral content with brands, agencies and production companies worldwide, and Rightster, a leading online video distribution, marketing and monetisation specialist, today announces that the most viewed user generated viral video of all time, the hugely successful ‘Charlie bit my finger’ has exceeded half a billion views on YouTube.
This milestone coincides with the introduction on YouTube of a new series of original online videos featuring Harry and Charlie alongside their younger brother Jasper. The first three pilot episodes titled “Biting News”, “King of The Week” and “Charlie Bites…Toys” were produced by Viral Studios, a division of Viral Spiral, in conjunction with Rightster and showcase a selection of lighthearted viral videos from around the web, together with a review of a remote controlled Lamborghini toy car.
The YouTube viewing statistics for the original ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ video provide insight for the first time into how the most popular user generated video went viral and also illustrate significant changes in our viewing habits.
High speed mobile broadband together with the widespread adoption of smartphone and tablet devices has resulted in a dramatic shift to video consumption on the go with 73.5% of all views in 2012 coming from these devices, compared to 45.2% in 2011 and 22.4% in 2010.
The video was uploaded to YouTube on the 22nd May 2007 and has since attracted audiences worldwide with the USA, Mexico, UK, Canada, Germany, Brazil, Australia and most recently, Saudi Arabia all having featured in the top 5 list of countries generating the most views each year. At the other end of the list, there have been 103 views from the Vatican City and in last place, 3 views from Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand with a population of approximately 1,400 inhabitants.
Interestingly, the video was initially more popular among females who made up over 60% of the audience in 2007. The boys have since caught up, with the audience now evenly split.
Damian Collier, Founder and CEO of Viral Spiral commented: ““We’re delighted that the ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’ clip has now reached the half a billion views milestone – it’s amazing to see how popular this video has become in every corner of the globe. It's a household name, and turning into a true 'brand'. We look forward to working with the boys and their family as well as Rightster, on this exciting new venture.”
Howard Davies-Carr, father of Harry, Charlie and Jasper added: “We love that such a simple video has touched so many souls. We hope the boys can continue to lighten up peoples’ lives in the years to come.”
“This is a hugely exciting time for the online video industry and we are delighted to be collaborating with Viral Spiral to bring original content programming ideas to life,” added Charlie Muirhead, Founder and CEO of Rightster. “The immense popularity of the ‘Charlie bit my finger’ video underscores the massive potential for content producers, publishers and brands to create, distribute and monetize original video content and demonstrates the potential to extend their reach to millions of online users globally.”