Streaming TV Ups Viewer Engagement

Watching a video on a big living-room TV screen can be good news for streaming TV-video producers -- especially those video segments that are long in duration.

Connected TV viewers watched live streaming video for an average of 44 minutes -- 10 times longer than on-demand videos delivered to connected TVs by over-the-top services, per a new video study from Ooyala, a digital video technology company.

While over-the-top viewing accounts for only a fraction of total TV consumption, people streaming content to their TV -- using a smart TV, set-top box, game console or companion device -- are the most engaged, especially with live content, it notes.

Why? The study reasons that TV viewers are in a “lean-back” mindset with any type of video on their big video screens.

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Ooyala also says connected TV viewers spent 56% of their total viewing time watching videos longer than 10 minutes, and 45% watching videos longer than half an hour. But it seems a ‘lean-back’ -- or maybe kick-back -- mode also applies to mobile and tablet video usage, especially after-work hours.

The study says mobile “video plays” peak on Friday and Saturday nights, with mobile video plays surging between 8 and 10 p.m. -- a time when many devices are connected to WiFi.

Also, most tablet video plays occur on Friday night, when people use these devices as first and second screens. As with mobile video, people watch more daytime tablet TV on the weekends.

Overall, mobile video activity grew 28% and tablet video was 18% higher in the second quarter of this year.

"Watching TV" photo from Shutterstock.

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