Ooyala’s Q3 2016 Global Video Index shows that viewers in Europe, particularly Great Britain, watch more online sports content via mobile than those in the rest of the world.
The report also highlights that mobile viewing now represents over half (52%) of all video views, and that consumers are watching more mid- to long-form content on any device, regardless of screen size. The report provides advertising trends across broadcasters and publishers, and, with additional data from Irdeto, how companies can combat piracy of 4K and live-sports content.
A year ago, Ireland was the only market that saw the share of sports video views on mobile devices pass 50%. Today, 50% or more is the norm, globally. Great Britain, specifically, now sees 59% of sports video plays on mobile devices. As of Q3, Great Britain now outpaces the average of mobile sports viewing in all of Europe, 54%, the average in the United States, 52%, and the global average, 49%.
The new report shows fan engagement with a popular European football club across a 45-day period year over year. The average daily baseline of video plays increased nearly 70 percent in 2016, with the maximum number of plays more than doubling.
This growth is more notable after the home team wins a match. After a win, the club averages nearly 100 percent more video plays today than it did last year. More so, after a win against an historic rival, video plays jump more than 230%. This shows sports providers have a tremendous opportunity to publish more content after wins to maximize fan engagement and revenue as fans flock to video for game highlights and player interviews.
More than 52% of all video views were on mobile devices this quarter. This is the second consecutive quarter that mobile made up more than half of all online viewing. Since Q3 2013, mobile video views have increased more than 233%, outpacing the growing penetration rate of mobile devices globally as viewers spend more time watching video on the small screen.
Q3 2016 marks the first quarter to show growth across all screens for mid- to long-form video consumption, content over five minutes in length. Consumers are increasingly more comfortable watching longer content, even if on smaller screens. Smartphone users now spend 48 percent of their time on mid- to long-form content, up more than 23% from last year, while viewers on computers spend 57%, a 43% year-over-year increase. Connected TV users consume the most, watching mid- to long-form content 97% of the time, a 73% increase since 2015.
The report includes research from digital platform security provider, Irdeto, and analyst firm SNL Kagan. Their report surveyed 500 video service providers about how they intend to combat piracy of 4K and live sports content. According to Irdeto, 4K and live sports content will be primary piracy targets as the two categories of content are expected to increase costs by 10 to 30% for pay-TV and SVOD subscribers. Respondents said they are likely to use more than one method to repel pirates, including internet piracy analytics, piracy detective services, content protection, watermarking, content fingerprinting, investigation and enforcement services and DarkNet monitoring. Interestingly, in the Americas and Europe, piracy intelligence analytics are most popular, while in Asia-Pacific, providers and producers rely more on Internet piracy detection services.
“The importance of data is crucial for broadcasters, publishers and media companies as digital TV makes audiences and, therefore, strategies global. Having analytics to understand how viewers across the globe are consuming video differently is paramount,” said Ooyala Principal Analyst, Jim O’Neill.
“Mobile can’t be ignored, either. Netflix just announcing offline viewing of its content on mobile devices underlines just how mobile we’ve become and how crucial mobile devices are for all content providers. This report reflects that as consumption of mid- to long-form premium content is increasing and gaining traction on all devices, particularly mobile.”
Across all video plays, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain lead Europe in mobile online viewing. These three countries surprisingly outpace the UK and Ireland, which led the region in all mobile viewing in Q3 2015, as well as the global average.
Mobile devices delivered 44% of all broadcaster pre-roll ad impressions, on par with the share of impressions delivered on desktop and laptop computers (44%). Publishers saw a slightly different mix, with mobile (27.5%) and tablet (12.2%) combining for a 39.7% share of ad impressions, compared to 60.2% of ad impressions for computers.
Tablet devices delivered nearly 38% of mid-roll ad impressions for broadcasters in Q3, more than three times the number of ad impressions on smartphones (11.2%). Publishers, meanwhile, generated more mid-roll ad impressions on computers (68%) than on smartphones (30%) or tablets (2%).