Research released last week by Ooyala indicated that broadcast TV is finding a welcoming audience online, and new data [pdf] from Adobe supports that finding. Compared to the average, completion rates for TV-related content (such as full episodes of TV shows) are 12.5% higher on PCs (45% vs. 40%), 31.4% higher on tablets (46% vs. 35%), and 33.3% higher on mobile phones (36% vs. 27%). The same pattern is true for video view rates (the percentage of visits resulting in a video start.) Specifically, compared to the average, the video view rate for TV-related content is 22.2% higher on PCs (55% vs. 45%), 29% higher on tablets (40% vs. 31%), and 36.4% higher on mobile phones (15% vs. 11%).
The study does not include user-generated video content.
Adobe’s report contains a host of intriguing statistics about online video in 2012. The following is a summary of some of the more notable data:
- The 15 billion video streams measured in Q4 2012 are 11 times more than all of the US movie ticket sales in 2012;
- Digital video consumption grew by 30% year-over-year in Q4;
- Video starts on smartphones tripled year-over-year in 2012, with the share of video starts held by smartphones and tablets combined exceeded 10% in Q4;
- Video consumption of smartphones was highest on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays (16% share each), but clearly peaked on the weekend (Saturday:16%; Sunday: 17%) for tablets;
- While the vast majority of people used search (30%) or go directly (65%) to video, socially-referred video starts were more likely to be completed;
- Facebook accounted for a dominant 75% share of socially-referred video starts in Q4, compared to 16% for Twitter and 9% for all other social networks;
- Video content represented 74% share of Facebook viral reach in 2012, and 66% of social engagement;
- Video ad click-through rates were easily highest for post-rolls (3.1%) as opposed to pre-rolls (1.7%) and mid-rolls (1.4%);
- Ad click-through rates were significantly higher when served in content longer than 2 minutes compared to content shorter than 2 minutes (2.2% vs. 0.7%); and
- Ad completion rates were highest for mid-rolls (88%), followed by pre-rolls (76%) and post-rolls (59%).
About the Data: The Adobe data is based on 19.6 billion video starts in 2012 and is comprised of the aggregated and anonymous data from media and entertainment sites. Additional sample information includes: 10.1 billion ads services; 457 million Facebook posts; and 365 million Facebook comments, shares, and likes.