• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, September 7, 2012

The Olympics may have set streaming video records, but Internet consumers were keen on live video before the Games even started.

The amount of live video being viewed on mobile devices, such as phones and tablets, more than doubled in the second quarter (prior to the Olympics) compared with the first quarter, according to a just-released report from online video firm Ooyala. Live video represents interesting opportunities for advertisers because programmers can sell the same spot on the additional screens, or rely on digital ad insertion technology to deliver more targeted ads to online or mobile users. In addition, live streaming viewers are often highly engaged because they have actively chosen to tune in, underscoring another benefit of this audience for marketers.

Beyond live video, the amount of long-form videos (more than ten minutes) being viewed on mobile phones, PCs and tablets rose in the second quarter over the first. “We are seeing a blurring of broadband and broadcast,” said Ooyala’s Bismarck Lepe, president of products, in an interview.

Specifically, Ooyala tracked a 47% rise in long-form videos viewed on tablets quarter-over-quarter, with longer content accounting for two-thirds of the total videos viewed on tablets. That’s up from half in the first quarter, and it’s good news for marketers because streams of ten minutes or more usually contain three to five ads. That means there are more ad spots to sell in longer videos.

But tablets aren’t getting all the action. Long-form video comprised 48% of the time spent watching videos on smartphones last quarter, up from 41% in the first quarter. Likewise, long-form videos accounted for 62% of the time spent watching video on PCs, up from 54% the quarter before.

The data comes from an analysis of nearly 200 million unique viewers across Ooyala’s customer base, which include broadcasters, cable operators, online media companies, consumer brands and print publications. A caveat to bear in mind is that many of Ooyala’s customers focus on premium video that is usually longer by nature, but the consumer habits are still useful to study, as they speak to whether consumers tune in and keep watching the shows being proffered.