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Mobile Video Viewing Could Lead To Cord-Cutting

TV still reigns supreme for viewing video, but the second most popular venue for watching a show has become the mobile phone. In fact, more consumers are watching online video on their phones than on work or home computers, according to Experian’s recently released survey of cross-device usage. What’s more, Experian’s research indicates that the growing consumption of video on other devices is leading to cord-cutting.

About 94% of U.S. adults watch video on their TV each week, while 24% watch video on a smartphone every week, making the phone the “first screen” for online video. “Nearly a quarter of all adults and 42% of smartphone owners watch video on their phones during a typical week,” the study found. That finding makes sense given how consumers have become tethered to their phones and rarely leave home, or even go to the bathroom, without them. Likewise, 42% of tablet owners watch video on their devices in a given week. Compare those figures to Internet-connected TVs: less than one in ten adults watch video on a Web-enabled TV.

Mobile devices are ahead of home PCs in viewing of online video. About 26% of adults who own a home PC stream video on it each week, while 16% of adults with a work PC do so. Meanwhile, one-quarter of game console owners use that device for viewing shows.

This viewing may be playing a role in cord-cutting. Experian said that 6.5% of U.S. homes have opted for high-speed broadband but not multichannel video, and that’s up from 4.5% in 2010.

“Households where at least one resident owns a smartphone are 20% more likely to be cord-cutters and households where someone owns a tablet are 36% more likely,” the report said.

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