Study: 60% of video plays to be on mobile by mid-2018

Dec. 14, 2017
According to Ooyala, a record of more than 58% of video plays globally occurred on mobile devices in the third quarter of 2017, per the ...

According to Ooyala, a record of more than 58% of video plays globally occurred on mobile devices in the third quarter of 2017, per the company's "Q3 2017 Global Video Index." The company says this represents the sixth consecutive quarter in which mobile devices accounted for more than 50% of all online video starts, with Q3 mobile-video starts growing 11.9% vs. Q3 2016.

Ooyala forecasts that more than 60% of all video plays will be on mobile devices within the first half of 2018.

The use of mobile devices to view long-form video continues to grow dramatically, the report indicates. Long-form time-watched grew nearly 77% on smartphones and nearly 70% for tablets in Q3 2017 vs. Q3 2016, while medium-form video consumption continued to decline.

The report also tracks global variances in video consumption including quarter-over-quarter growth for long-form content, mobile growth in global markets, and emerging trends in online video advertising.

The study indicates that mobile devices dominated online sports viewing, capturing nearly 58% of users. Smartphones drew the largest segment, more than 46%, while tablet users attracted more than 11%.

In related findings:

  • 18-to-49-year-old males tend to be the largest adopters of online video via smartphones.
  • Video was played on smartphones four times more than on tablets - setting a record high in July at 51.1% of all plays.
  • Mobile accounted for nearly 63% of all Q3 sports-video plays, with viewing on smartphones above 50% and tablets at 12%. PCs make up 35% of plays, and connected TVs just less than 3%.
  • Mobile devices accounted for nearly two-thirds of all viewers of geo-blocked sporting events; smartphones remained the device of choice, attracting more than 51% of users.

"Not surprisingly, mobile continues to be the major driver of online video, popular across all age groups and all content types, and sports are leading the way," said Ooyala Principal Analyst Jim O'Neill. "Importantly, we know now that it's just bunk to suggest the Internet can't support live streaming of major sports events. One need look no further than the NFL -I stream at least two games a week without issue- for an example of just how ready sports leagues are to seed the Internet, hoping to harvest viewers from around the world and especially in China and its vast store of video consumers. Content providers, operators and brands all need to focus on how best to leverage the increasing adoption of all things mobile or risk being an also-ran in the race for content dominance."

Global video consumption varies significantly by region, Ooyala says. Mobile devices especially outperformed in hard-to-access areas where a mobile network deployment is usually cheaper and easier than a fixed network.

Regionally, the study indicates:

  • In the Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) region, mobile represents 56% of all video plays, a 15% quarter-over-quarter increase.
  • In North America, mobile represents slightly more than half of all video plays at 54%; smartphones were dominant, but plays on tablets were up 20%.
  • In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, 64.4% of all video plays are on mobile devices, the highest in the world and a 24% increase from a year ago.
  • In Latin America (LatAm), video plays topped 57% on smartphones and tablets.

Other findings indicate:

  • Screen size doesn't matter. Younger viewers and increasingly, older, viewers continue to drive the trend toward long-form content on smartphones. Companies are experimenting with 5G. Networks are testing the delivery of broadband to homes via wireless connections that will have enough bandwidth to handle any application.
  • Among findings on advertising-consumption trends, mid-roll ads saw the highest percentage of completions for digital-video publishers.