SAN JOSE, CA: Global mobile video consumption continued to rise in the first quarter of 2018, with almost three out of every five videos being watched on mobile, although there are signs that its growth rate is slowing.
That is according to a new study from Ooyala, the online analytics firm, which found mobile devices accounted for 58% of all videos watched globally in Q1 2018, yet that represented an increase of just 1.8% from the same period last year.
That was one of the smallest increases in 14 quarters that Ooyala has measured for its Global Video Index Report, and it also marked the first quarter-on-quarter decline in mobile’s share of plays at almost 4.6%.
Ooyala said this suggests that the growth of mobile video is beginning to stabilise, although its principal analyst, Jim O’Neill, noted in separate commentary that Q1 2018 was “a bit of an anomaly” and that we’re unlikely to be at the limit for mobile growth.
Despite this modest dip in growth over the quarter, it seems consumer demand for long-form video is continuing at pace – and not just on wider screened PCs and tablets.
While consumers watched long-form content (defined as 20 to 40 minutes) to completion 71% of the time on PCs and 61% on tablets, they still did so 57% of the time on their smartphones.
Even ultra-long-form videos of more than 40 minutes in duration were viewed to completion more than 45% of the time on smartphones during the quarter. That compared to 51% on tablets and 59% on PCs.
“Consumers are becoming far more comfortable watching any content on every screen than they’ve ever been,” said O’Neill.
“The traditional barriers to multiscreen viewing – the amount of available premium content, the cost of service and the quality of experience – all have fallen. The first screen for viewing truly has become the screen that’s most available to the viewer at the moment.”
That is according to a new study from Ooyala, the online analytics firm, which found mobile devices accounted for 58% of all videos watched globally in Q1 2018, yet that represented an increase of just 1.8% from the same period last year.
That was one of the smallest increases in 14 quarters that Ooyala has measured for its Global Video Index Report, and it also marked the first quarter-on-quarter decline in mobile’s share of plays at almost 4.6%.
Ooyala said this suggests that the growth of mobile video is beginning to stabilise, although its principal analyst, Jim O’Neill, noted in separate commentary that Q1 2018 was “a bit of an anomaly” and that we’re unlikely to be at the limit for mobile growth.
Despite this modest dip in growth over the quarter, it seems consumer demand for long-form video is continuing at pace – and not just on wider screened PCs and tablets.
While consumers watched long-form content (defined as 20 to 40 minutes) to completion 71% of the time on PCs and 61% on tablets, they still did so 57% of the time on their smartphones.
Even ultra-long-form videos of more than 40 minutes in duration were viewed to completion more than 45% of the time on smartphones during the quarter. That compared to 51% on tablets and 59% on PCs.
“Consumers are becoming far more comfortable watching any content on every screen than they’ve ever been,” said O’Neill.
“The traditional barriers to multiscreen viewing – the amount of available premium content, the cost of service and the quality of experience – all have fallen. The first screen for viewing truly has become the screen that’s most available to the viewer at the moment.”
Sourced from Ooyala; additional content by WARC staff
