Long-form video is now the most popular content format regardless of screen size, according to the latest Video Index from Ooyala.
The company’s Q1 2017 Global Video Index, released Tuesday, reports that for the first time, long-form content – defined as greater than 20 minutes in length – represents the majority of time spent watching video on every screen, at 63% (although short-form video has the greatest chance of being watched in its entirety).
Much of that is due to the increasing amount of premium content that services are now making available to all devices. As longer content becomes more prevalent, short-form is losing its dominance, particularly as larger mobile screens are now more common, the report says.
By device, the study finds long-form content now represents:
- 98% of all time spent watching video on connected TVs, up from 83% the year before;
- 81% on tablets, also up notably from 51% the year before;
- 65% on computers, nearly doubling from a year before (35%);
- 55% on smartphones, a 26% increase from Q1 2016.
Ooyala also said that mobile viewing continues to be a major driver of OTT growth, reaching a new high of nearly 57% of all video plays in Q1 2017, with smartphones accounting for 47% of total plays and tablets the other 10%.
Although mobile plays were dominant in every region, Ooyala found an 11% variance in consumption between North American viewers and more active viewers in the Asia-Pacific region. In APAC, 61% of all video plays are on mobile, up from 46% a year ago, while in North America, mobile represents slightly more than half of all video plays, up from 48% a year ago. APAC also saw the largest growth in mobile video consumption of any region, jumping 15% since last year.
Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and Latin America saw more than 10% year-over-year growth in mobile consumption.
“Adoption of mobile devices isn’t slowing down, and consumers are as comfortable watching long-form content on smartphones and tablets as they are short clips,” said Ooyala Principal Analyst and Strategic Media Consultant, Jim O’Neill. “It’s no longer enough to simply deliver content to a mobile device. Ensuring the highest quality video, in addition to easy discovery and navigation, has become a must-have for any compelling viewing experience. Video providers should be prepared to make all of their content available for mobile consumption, and business strategies must embrace all screen sizes.”
The index also found that broadcasters increased their reliance on tablets for mid-roll ads, delivering 54% of total mid-roll ads on those devices. Mobile devices represent nearly 66%, unseating PCs (26.5%), a big drop from when PCs held the lion’s share (39%) in Q4 2016.
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