Numbers and studies proliferate daily in the new-media business. Researchers release data at a rapid speed and the sheer amount of numbers can make the eyes swim.

But growth projections are also the currency of the new world order. An understanding of both current consumer habits and future ad revenue can help television executives, marketers and media executives program for the online video world.

Here’s a tip sheet of the most compelling data points to emerge in the last few months.

How do we use video today? In five years?

Six hours per day
Amount of time the average American spends today with video-based entertainment, up from 4.6 hours in 1996

Eight hours per day
The amount of time Americans will spend consuming video in 2013

Less than one hour per day
The time the average American spends today watching PC, Web and mobile video

2.9 hours per day
The time the average American will spend watching PC, Web and mobile video in 2013

Four hours per day
The time the average American spends watching TV today

Four hours per day
The time the average American will spend watching TV in 2013

64
The percent of video-based entertainment consumed on TV today by the average American

42
The percent of video-based entertainment consumed on TV today by the 12- to 24-year-old age group

Source: Solutions Research Group

How we find everything online, including video

68
The percent of all Internet searches in April that occurred on Google, a 4% rise over last year

20
The percent of all Internet searches in April that occurred on Yahoo!, about the same as last year

29
The percent of traffic to online video sites that originates from search engines, a 35% rise over last year, suggesting that the world’s biggest search engines are the primary traffic drivers for online video

20
The percent of traffic to online video sites that originates from a Google search, a 46% rise over last year

Source: Hitwise, April 2008

What it costs to advertise in online video

$25
The typical CPM for a prime-time show in broadcast

$40
The typical CPM for a prime-time show online

$60 to $70
CPMs for the most popular prime-time shows online

$471 million
Ad dollars spent on streaming video last year

$7.2 billion
Ad dollars that will be spent on streaming video in 2012

Source: Forrester Research

How much are our kids watching?

Kids and teens
The demographic that is driving at-home consumption of online video

TV shows, toys, movies and music
The type of online video sites kids and teens are drawn to

118 minutes
The average time kids 2 to 11 spent watching online video in April

132 minutes
The average time teens 12 to 17 spent watching online video in April

99 minutes
The average time adults 18 and older spent watching online video in April

Source: Nielsen Online

How we use Web 2.0 for Politics

46
The percent of Americans who have used the Internet, e-mail or text messaging to get news about the 2008 presidential campaign, share views or mobilize others

About one-third
The number of American who have watched online political videos during the current presidential campaign, nearly three times the number who did so in 2004

One in five
The number of Americans who have watched an online video about the campaign that did not come from a news organization or the candidates themselves

10
The percent of Americans who have used social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to become more involved in the campaign

Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project