As we become a more mobile-oriented society and dedicate less time to sitting in front of a TV set for two hours to watch a movie, it is no wonder that the latest study from Ooyala shows that Q4 2016 mobile viewing now represents 54-percent of all online viewing. This is up from 46-percent earlier in 2016. As Internet access becomes more widely available and larger smartphones hit the market, this trend is continuing to grow, and video providers must adjust accordingly. Ooyala predicts that by the end of the Q1 2017 this AVOD (Ad-based Video on Demand) could hit 60-percent in the mobile market.
Consumers are freeing themselves from cables and geographic restrictions by hooking up with mobile-based viewing which includes smartphones and tablets, although AVOD falls squarely on our smartphone with 45-percent of the viewing and only 11-percent on tablets. This is the first time the video has narrowly edge out desktop/laptop viewing, which falls in at 44-percent but will continue to drop as mobile viewing rises. Mobile devices have been the go-to device for watching short video clips, such as YouTube, but more people are choosing their mobile device to watch longer full-length shows or movies. Big screen TVs still top the movies segment with 96-percent usage and tablets at 65-percent, but smartphones were up to 47-percent in Q4 2016. Jim O’Neill, principal analyst and strategic media consultant for Ooyala stated in a release, “We see a steady increase of premium subscription and ad-supported content coming over the top, and the consumer is determining which will be the winner. Based on our data and feedback from customers, we see the modern TV model evolving into one that involves both, a hybrid of SVOD and AVOD and accessible on every device.”
The amount of growth varies by region with the North American viewing less than the global average, and there is even more of a gap between North American and the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). The Asia-Pacific mobile viewing came in at 58-percent, while in LATAM (Latin America) was even higher at 60-percent. While the US or North American areas are inundated with TVs, there is less viewing on mobile devices whereas other regions rely more on mobile devices to get their news and entertainment. Viewing on mobile devices is going to continue to rise, and both the content providers and advertisers must adjust the way they present their programming and ads to adapt to the new mobile lifestyle that millenniums are spearheading.