Commentary

TV Viewing Anywhere, On Anything

According to a new study from Ooyala, “Q3 2012 Video Index,” long-form Video TV is no longer a single screen in the living room. Viewers today are watching long-form premium content on a variety of connected devices. Tablets are quickly becoming the “first screen” people turn to when streaming TV shows, movies and sporting events. This is true in developing markets, and even in households with traditional televisions.

Mobile Share of Time Spent Watching Online Video

Medium

Sep 2012

Jul 2012

May 2012

Tablet

3.21%

2.65%

1.97%

Mobile video

2.21

2.23

1.70

Combined

5.41

4.88

3.67

Source: Ooyala, November 2012

For long-form premium content, there’s no such thing as “online video” anymore. The definition of TV has changed to include any premium content viewed on an increasing number of connected screens. Nearly 20% of total desktop viewing time was spent watching content that ran 60+ minutes. 30% of the total time spent watching tablet video was with content 30-60 minutes long.

Viewers who watch videos on their smart phones spent nearly half their time watching premium, long-form content (defined here as videos over 10 minutes long). Long-form content accounted for 71% of all the time people spent watching tablet video last quarter. 30% of all time spent watching video on tablets was with content over an hour long.

Long Form Video Views by Device (% Viewing)

Quarter

Desktop

Mobile

Tablet

CTV&GC

Q1 2012

53.9%

41.1%

46%

88.5%

Q2 2012

62%

48%

67%

93%

Q3 2012

59.9%

 47.6%

71.2%

93.8%

Source: Ooyala, November 2012; CTV: Connected TV; GC: Gaming consoles

Viewers who watched video on connected TVs and gaming consoles spent 94% of their time watching videos 10+ minutes long. 42% of the total time spent watching video on CTV & GCs was with content running between 30 and 60 minutes. Videos with 60+ minute running times accounted for 41% of total viewing time on CTV & GCs.

Percent of Time Spent Watching Video (Q3 2012; % Of All Hours Watched)

Minutes Watched

Desktop

Mobile

Tablet

CTV&GC

Less than 1

2.35%

3.33%

2.39%

0.19%

1 to 3

15.02%

24.98%

12.83%

1.43%

3 to 6

14.69%

15.15%

8.48%

1.74%

6 to 10

8.03%

8.91%

5.10%

2.85%

>10 minutes

59.92%

47.64%

71.20%

93.79%

< 10 minutes

40.08%

52.36%

28.80%

6.21%

10 to 30

14.85%

16.42%

11.14%

11.67%

30 to 60

26.05%

18.19%

30.57%

41.59%

> 60 minutes

19.02%

13.02%

29.49%

40.52%

Source: Ooyala, November 2012; CTV: Connected TV; GC: Gaming consoles

After the new iPad was released in March 2012, tablet viewing jumped 26%. Since that time, the overall share of tablet video viewing has grown 90%. The share of mobile video viewing grew 39% in the past six months. Taken together, the share of time spent watching tablet and mobile video jumped 64% in Q2 and Q3.

Tablet, Mobile Share of Overall Video Plays (% Share; Q2, Q3 2012)

 

Mobile

Tablet

Mobile +Tablet

April

1.59%

1.69%

3.29%

May

1.70%

1.97%

3.67%

June

1.90%

2.38%

4.29%

July

2.23%

2.65%

 4.88%

August

2.28%

2.93%

 5.21%

Sept

2.21%

 3.21%

 5.41%

Source: Ooyala, November 2012

The study shows that viewer engagement with live content, like sports and special events, was much stronger than VOD viewing times on the same devices. The report concludes that live video + big screens equals more viewer engagement and more chances to monetize premium streaming content.

To access the complete PDF report, and additional information, please visit Ooyala here.

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About the Author

Jack Loechner is the Editor of The Center for Media Research's daily Research Brief. You can reach him at jack@mediapost.com.