In the third quarter of this year, mobile devices were the medium of choice for 52% of all video views. That’s a huge increase from three years ago -- more than triple the rate. Ooyala added that the quick increase exceeds the global rate of adoption of mobile devices.
The Ooyala data comes from an analysis of viewing trends of more than 200 million people around the world, the company said.
Interestingly, most mobile views originate on phones rather than tablets. About 85% of the video views came from phones.
What’s more, phone viewers aren’t just gobbling up the so-called snack-size content. They are increasingly giving their attention to longer-form content. About 48% of video viewing on phones comes from content that’s five minutes or longer, up from 23% a year ago.
Where the eyeballs go, the ads follow. Mobile devices served up 44% of broadcasters’ pre-roll ads, about the same share as computer screens. Meanwhile, publishers generated 39.7% of ad impressions on mobile devices, with 60.2% on computers.
Ooyala also noted a rise in mobile sports viewing in Europe. Great Britain claims 59% of sports views on mobile devices, with Europe at 54% and the United States at 52%. That compares to a global average of 49%.
It drives me crazy that anyone thinks "mobile" is a monolithic thing. We need to start recognizing some truths:
Viewed on a mobile device pretty much means "just like viewed on a laptop"...it's a device change not a behavior change.
In tiny segments, mobile devices are used in true mobility mode or while shopping.
But despite these realities, marketers are being sold a shiny bauble as if mobile was a different beast than general internet. Other than being sure your video plays well on a mobile device, there is really not more than minuscule opportunity to leverage mobile for anything significant. Can we move along now?