CMO.com

More than 173 million viewers watched an average of 187 videos per viewer during the month of January 2010, according to comScore's Video Metrix service.

The service, which runs on TV set-top boxes containing Google software, allows users to find shows on the satellite-TV service as well as video from Web sites like Google's YouTube, and lets users personalize a lineup of shows, sources say.

Companies have been making viral videos for years, as a way to reach online audiences who don't pay attention to traditional ads. The latest: Reebok and two almost-naked athletes.

In a move that spells diversification, Major League Baseball Advanced Media will handle the technology infrastructure and customer support for the nearly 3,500 live events that ESPN streams each year.

For Hulu to successfully charge fees, whether monthly or on a per-video basis, it would have to offer exclusive or premium content that viewers couldn't easily get elsewhere.

The most physical of media forms--the exhibition business--is going virtual. Some of the industry's biggest global organizers have begun offering hundreds of online-only shows, often using specialist developers such as CGS, InXpo, ON24 and Unisfair.

New research indicates that the long-held promise of TV/Internet convergence is gaining traction, albeit slowly.

The company says the 100Mbps service will allow users to download a music album in as little as five seconds, an hour-long TV show in 31 seconds, and a high-definition movie in roughly seven minutes.

But while ads from the big game fade, some of the more durable viral campaigns are returning to the list, a testament to their lasting power.