Mobile video continues to make waves
Mobile video consumption in Europe accounted for 53% of all online video plays in the region in the third quarter of 2015, according to new figures from Ooyala.
Surpassing the global trend of 45% this quarter, mobile video has grown at a ‘torrid’ pace for the last three years, up 840% over the 12-quarter period in Q2 and an even bigger 1,112% in Q1.
In Q3 2015 Great Britain and Ireland led the way with smartphones and tablets making up two thirds of all online viewing. Meanwhile, smartphones continue to outpace tablets considerably in Europe when it comes to mobile video viewing – accounting for 88% and 12% of all mobile video views, respectively.
The study also indicates programmatic transactions are becoming a norm for premium publishers, recording a 103% increase over the quarter.
As a result, the volume of Deal ID transactions – paid ad impressions resulting from those deals – rose 150%, while overall real-time bidding grew 235%.
“Leading into 2016, it’s abundantly clear that video – both delivery and advertising – is scaling massively across all screens,” said Jonathan Wilner, vice president of product and strategy for Ooyala.
“For premium content providers the major opportunity today is getting smarter about their video strategy. Video providers need to know to leverage timely events, tap into new advertising technology, understand how their audience is engaging with content and optimise their video business accordingly to maximise returns.”
The research additionally tapped into engagement with sports videos, with fans, on average, playing 75% more videos on the day prior to any given match, and over 100% more on the day after.
Combined, the two trends show a broad three-day window for content providers to maximise fan engagement and ad revenue around game day as well as to increase viewership across all devices – particularly mobile.
– Mobile video share of plays was up 50% year on year in Q3
– Ireland averages more sports viewing on mobile devices at 51% than the rest of Europe and the U.S. – both at 39%
– Despite mobile growth, consumers still prefer larger screens for longer content. Over the past nine months, for video over 10 minutes long, the share of time watched on connected TVs increased from 43% to 71%
– For publishers specifically, tablet (32%) and smartphone (24%) ad impressions dominated at the expense of PCs; publisher ad impressions on PCs have declined 22% since the first quarter
– Tablets had the second-largest share of overall time watched at 35%, down slightly from 40% in Q1; but tablets dominate share of time watched for content 10–30 minutes long, the length typical of episodic TV, at 20%