The share of time spent watching video on mobile phones and tablets continues to quickly grow, although it remains a fraction of overall viewing time, according to [download page] a September 2012 report from Ooyala. Mobile phones accounted for 2.3% of overall time spent watching online video during the last week of Q2, representing 53% growth from the start of the period (1.5%). Tablets’ share of time spent grew even more rapidly during that time frame, climbing 72% from 1.5% to 2.6%. The overall share of time spent watching video on a mobile device reached 4.9% at the end of the quarter, up 63% from 3% at the start of the quarter.
Non-desktop video viewing continues a strong upward trajectory. Ooyala observed in Q4 2011 that video plays on tablets, mobile devices, and connected TVs and game consoles (CTV & GCs)Â almost doubled over Q3. The tablet share of non-desktop video plays grew the most, by 132%, while the growth in mobile share was 94%.
Long-Form Content Dominates on Larger Screens
Details from Ooyala’s most recent report suggest that “big screens are for big content.” In Q2 2012, 93% of the entire time viewers spent watching video on smart TVs, gaming consoles, and set-top boxes was devoted to long-form content (like movies and TV shows), up from 88% in Q1.
Tablet viewers devoted the next highest percentage of viewing time to long-form video. Two-thirds of the time they spent watching videos in Q2 was dedicated to long-form content.
Long-form video content also made up a majority (62%) of the total time spent watching streaming video on desktop computers in Q2 2012. Finally, videos longer than 10 minutes made up almost half of the total time spent watching video on mobile phones in Q2. The time spent watching long-form video content on phones grew 17% between Q1 and Q2, from 41% to 48%.
Tablets Sport Highest Long-Form Completion Rates
Completion rates overall – regardless of length – were highest on connected TVs and gaming consoles, followed by tablets, desktops, and mobile phones. This pattern was found for all video lengths except for long-form video, for which completion rates were highest for tablets (39%), followed by connected TVs and game consoles (CTV & GC – 37%), desktops (28%), and mobile phones (22%).
Videos under 1 minute in length showed the highest completion rate across all devices, led by CTV & GC (76%) and tablets (75%), and followed by desktops (63%) and mobiles (55%).
Other Findings:
- The share of time spent watching live video on tablets and mobile devices increased 123% in Q2.
- PC viewers tuned in to live videos (e.g., breaking news, sporting events) for an average of 33 minutes in Q2, compared with video-on-demand PC engagement rates of 2 minutes, 50 seconds.
About The Data: Data was collected from April 1 through June 30, 2012, and from a cross-section of Ooyala’s global customer and partner database, which includes an array of broadcasters, studios, cable operators, print publications, online media companies and consumer brands. These companies broadcast video to over 130 countries from more than 6,000 unique domains. This data sample is not intended to represent the entire internet or all online video viewers.
