• by Daisy Whitney , Op-Ed Contributor, April 29, 2015

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Size matters.

Sure, the small screen is rising in general as a vehicle for video consumption. But when consumers have a bigger mobile screen, they watch more video on it. Nearly half of mobile video viewers watch long-form video, according to a study of online consumers conducted last fall by Yahoo and just released last week. As the phone size increases into the “phablet” range (a mobile phone that’s a cross with a tablet), the viewing of video is up three times over the viewership on smartphones, Yahoo said.

That increase extends across programming categories, including sports, entertainment and news. As screen size grows, so does engagement with the video. On full-sized tablets, the average time spent per session of mobile video viewing is close to ten minutes. That compares to nearly seven minutes on small tablets, and almost four minutes on smartphones.

Long-form video viewing on digital devices is now mainstream, the study found. More than 90% of consumers in all age groups from 13 to 54 now watch long-form video on digital devices. Teens and millennials watch with the most frequency. In those age groups, watching TV and movies on digital screens is quickly replacing viewing them on the TV, Yahoo said.

Long-form video viewing on connected TVs is also quickly rising. About 80% of consumers say they now watch long-form video on connected TVs.  

Not surprisingly, viewers prefer shorter ads, citing 15 seconds as the ideal length for video ads in a long-form digital environment.