Tablets Gain Mobile Video Viewers

by Jack Loechner, Jun 20, 2012, 7:19 AM

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According to a new comScore release on insights into the U.S. tablet market, tablets have reached a critical mass in the U.S. with 1 in every 4 smartphone owners using tablets during the three-month period ending April 2012, and nearly three times more likely to watch video on their device compared to smartphone users, with 1 in every 10 tablet users viewing video content almost daily on their device.

Mark Donovan, comScore SVP of Mobile, observes that “... tablets are one of the most rapidly adopted consumer technologies in history... poised to fundamentally disrupt the way people engage with the digital world... on-the-go and... in the home...”

In April 2012, 16.5% of mobile phone subscribers used a tablet, representing an increase of 11.8 percentage points in the past year. Growth in market penetration was even more apparent among the smartphone population with nearly 1 in 4 using a tablet device in April, an increase of 13.9 percentage points in the past year. A lower 10.4% of feature phone owners use a tablet, suggesting that smartphone ownership is highly predictive of tablet adoption in the current market.

Tablet Users Among Mobile Audiences (Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers; Ages 13+; 3 Month Average)
	% of Respondents Using Tablet
	Apr 2011	Apr 2012	Point Change
Total Mobile (Feature Phone & Smartphone)	4.7%	16.5%	11.8
Smartphone Only	9.7%	23.6%	13.9
Feature Phone Only	2.3%	10.4%	8.1
Source: comScore MobiLens, June 2012

A demographic analysis of mobile device audiences indicated that tablet and smartphone audiences closely resemble one another in terms of gender composition, with tablet users just slightly more likely to be female than smartphone users.

However, the age composition of audiences showed that tablet users skewed noticeably older than smartphone users. For both devices, the heaviest overall audience concentration was between the ages of 25 and 44. Compared to smartphone owners, tablet users were 28% more likely to be in the 65 and older age segment, and 27% less likely to be age 18-24.

Tablet users also skewed towards upper income households, likely a function of the high price point of these devices still considered a luxury good to many consumers. Nearly 3 in 5 tablet users resided in households with income of $75,000 or greater, compared to 1 in every 2 smartphone users.

Tablet and Smartphone Audience Demographic Profile (Total U.S. Tablet Owners and Smartphone Subscribers, Age 13+; 3 Month Average Ending Apr. 2012)
	% Share of Tablet Audience	% Share of Smartphone Audience	Index of Tablet to Smartphone Audience (100=Avg.)
Total Audience	100.0%	100.0%	100
Male	49.2%	51.6%	95
Female	50.8%	48.4%	105
Age:
13-17	7.3%	6.5%	112
18-24	12.3%	16.9%	73
25-34	24.4%	25.3%	96
35-44	21.4%	21.2%	101
45-54	17.8%	15.7%	113
55-64	10.1%	9.2%	110
65+	6.8%	5.3%	128
Household Income:
<$25k	7.4%	11.7%	63
$25k to <$50k	17.7%	19.5%	91
$50k to <$75k	18.9%	19.5%	97
$75k to <$100k	18.3%	15.9%	115
$100k+	37.7%	33.4%	113
Source: comScore TabLens and comScore MobiLens, June 2012

N.B. comScore defines a media tablet as a touchscreen tablet device with a slate form factor, a 7 inch or greater screen size and a data connection, but no voice plan. Single purpose eBook reader devices are excluded from this definition.

More than half of tablet users watched video and/or TV content on their device in April 2012, compared to just 20% of the smartphone audience, with larger screen sizes making tablets more conducive to video consumption than their smaller-screen cousins, says the report.

Not only were tablet users more likely to watch video, but they were more likely to view video habitually with 18.9% of tablet users watching video content at least once a week, and 9.5% watching video nearly every day on their device. Of those viewing video at least once during the month, 1 in 4 paid to watch content, highlighting the tremendous monetization potential this platform represents for content providers.

Video/TV Viewing on Device for Tablet and Smartphone Audience (Total U.S. Tablet Owners and Smartphone Subscribers, Age 13+; 3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012)
Viewing Frequency	% of Tablet Audience	% of Smartphone Audience
Ever in month	53.0%	20.0%
Once to three times throughout the month	24.6%	10.3%
At least once each week	18.9%	6.7%
Almost every day	9.5%	2.9%
Source: comScore TabLens and comScore MobiLens, June 2012

For additional information from comScore, please visit here.

 

 

 

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