Ooyala’s Q4 2013 Global Video Index projects mobile and tablets to account for half of all online viewing by 2016.
Mobile and tablet viewing has increasg 719% since Q4 2011. At its current pace, Ooyala projects mobile and tablet viewership will account for half of all online videos by 2016.
A recent Ooyala survey showed 99% of respondents from hundreds of broadcasters and publishers see mobile as important or critical to their online experience. This has been evidenced around the globe by recent TV-everywhere offerings from Univision and Foxtel’s new movie streaming service, Presto.
As video-capable mobile devices proliferate and mainstream broadcasters launch new multi-screen deployments, mobile online viewing continues to increase at rapid rates. The time consumers spent watching video on mobile and tablets exceeded one-fourth of all online viewing this quarter alone.
More than half of mobile viewers’ time was spent watching video longer than 30 minutes in Q4, compared to 35% for tablet users. Additionally mobile video share of plays increased by 21% from Q3 to Q4 2013.
Ooyala’s Q4 Index also found that sports broadcasters are among the most progressive in pushing advanced technology to their audiences, and sports fans are the hungriest consumers of video across all screens. On average, mobile viewers watched live sports three times longer in one sitting than when watching VOD, and tablet viewers watched live sports more than twice as long in one sitting than all other live video as a whole.
In terms of device behavior, connected TV users spent 87% of their total sports viewing time watching videos longer than 10 minutes compared to 62 percent on mobile. However, mobile users often stay connected for longer periods of time to watch recaps and game highlights.
More highlights from Q4 2013 Global Video Index: viewers watched, on average, more than 42 minutes of live video per play on connected TVs, and nearly 35 minutes per play on PCs.
Tablets streamed live content nearly two times more than VOD content. Tablet share grew 6% over the course of the year, while mobile share of all videos played grew at 10 times that rate.
Mobile and tablets combined for over 18% of time played in October, and reached over 26% by the end of December, a 43% increase.
“Sports properties are the leading innovators in digital distribution, especially when it comes to live and mobile viewing,” said Jay Fulcher, CEO of Ooyala.
“Our data continues to show major shifts in the way people consume TV and video, pointing to a global opportunity for broadcasters – particularly when sports are involved – to engage and increase their audience and maximise content rights monetisation.”
