60% of videos viewed globally are through mobile devices

According to Ooyala's Global Video Index Report, mobile video views reach 60% globally, the highest in history. Playback time for medium and long format video content exceeds 50% on all devices.

For the first time during the fourth quarter of 2017, Mobile video views exceeded 60% globally, (obtaining 60.3% of all video versions), according to the report of the Global Video Index Report de They spread it of the fourth quarter of 2017.

Geographically, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) had the highest level of engagement at 63.5%. North America lagged most of the rest of the world at 57.6% despite mobile video growing 11% since the fourth quarter of 2016.

Across all devices measured, including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and PCs, viewing time for medium and long-form content increased to more than 50% of all content, continuing a trend first reported by Ooyala in 2017.

One of the biggest viewing shifts occurred on desktop, where time spent watching long-form content dropped to 37% in the fourth quarter, its lowest point since the first quarter of 2016, when it was 35%.

On the other hand, time spent watching short-form content on PC rose to 50%, more than any other device. On other devices, short-form content was essentially flat year-over-year on smartphones (44%), tablets (26%) and smart TVs (0.7%).

Views on smartphones were three times more than tablets. Still, tablet share of all video views was 12.8%, representing a 68% increase since Q4 2016. Mobile views could soon reach, and potentially surpass, a 70% market share, driven by premium online sports content.

Jim O'Neill, principal analyst at Ooyala, commented that "the home screen is definitely changing. All devices are not created equal for video viewing. Consumers are just as comfortable watching a sporting event, TV show or movie on a smartphone as they are on a Smart TV, but not on their PC or tablet."

The rising tide of online content

The explosion of digital content is helping to drive TV viewing. On average, OTT services doubled their hours of content offerings over the past 12 months, with long-form content increasing 159%. Medium-form content offerings increased by 87% and short-form content increased by 112%.

“There is an avalanche of content never seen before in this industry… and there is no end in sight. It is the lifeblood of an OTT provider and the key to keeping users interested and coming back for more, especially if you maintain regular contact with your customers, letting them know in advance that new content is on the way,” added O’ Neill.

However, O'Neill cautioned that content providers and distributors will need to maintain constant technological improvement with a focus on Quality of Experience. “Near immediate go-live, consistent video stream quality and uninterrupted delivery, without any buffering, will be critical to the end-user experience,” he said. “Fail on any of those quality of experience factors and customers will look for other options, and may even account for some of the OTT subscriber churn.”

Along with the increase in views on mobile devices, mobile advertising has also grown. Smartphones, with 55%, surpassed PCs, with 36%, thanks to the percentage of impressions of previous spots shown on broadcast platforms. Previous spots on smartphones were highest (69%) on publisher platforms.

On the other hand, impressions for editors on smartphones have skyrocketed, up to 51% of all connected devices. Mid-roll ads saw the highest percentage of completions for broadcasters and editorial platforms. The completion rate in viewing content from broadcast platforms is greater than 97% on all devices.