Online TV consumption across connected devices has rocketed 388-percent higher year-over-year in 2014 as more people watched more TV online than ever before. Video game consoles and over-the-top (OTT) devices, moreover, now account for 10 percent of overall online TV viewing, according to Adobe’s latest “Video Benchmark Report.”
Analyzing trends in consumption of online TV (TV Everywhere) and other, non-authenticated online video, Adobe also found that movies overtook sports content for the first time.
While online TV viewing continues to be spread across several types of devices and platforms, game consoles and OTT devices gained the most in terms of market share. Evidence of the exponential growth in mobile online TV viewing, Android apps surpassed desktop browsers as access points. Across browsers and TV apps, the number of unique monthly viewers of online TV surged 146 percent higher year-over-year.
Growth in Online TV Viewing
“Consumers’ content consumption habits are changing rapidly,” Jeremy Helfand, vice president, Primetime at Adobe, was quoted in a company press release. “Viewers expect seamless, more personalized viewing experiences across an ever-increasing number of devices, and broadcasters; media companies and advertisers must transform their digital strategies to optimize the viewing experience.”
Other highlights of Adobe’s latest “Video Benchmark Report” include:
- Online TV Consumption: TV consumption across devices grew 388 percent YoY, driven in part by the World Cup, a major online TV event this summer. Broadcast and cable networks with direct-to-consumer online TV offerings saw their unique monthly viewership grow by 146 percent YoY across all online TV channels while the amount of online TV content watched per viewer grew by 55 percent YoY. 105 TV channels now power more than 300 online TV sites and apps in the U.S.;
- Platform Fragmentation: Of all device types, game consoles and OTT devices saw the biggest market share increase (194 percent YoY), now representing ten percent of all online TV consumption, up from three percent in 2013. The online TV market share for Android apps grew to 20 percent, an increase of 28 percent, surpassing browsers, which shrank to 19 percent market share, a 41 percent decline YoY. iOS apps still lead in market share with 51 percent;
- Online TV Content: For the first time, watching movies online exceeded watching sports content. Movie networks saw the strongest gain in viewing frequency, a 125 percent increase YoY from two movies to now 4.5 movies on average per month. Broadcast and cable networks saw an increase of 81 percent YoY for episodic content watched each month. Viewers watched 4.2 sporting events on average across sports networks, a modest monthly increase of 31 percent;
- Online Video (non-authenticated) Content: Viewing of online videos on smartphones (14 percent share) surpassed tablets (13 percent share) for the first time. Game consoles and OTT devices realized the highest market share growth with 127 percent YoY. Viewers watched videos on desktops the longest and were three times more likely to finish 75 percent of the content. Only 17 percent of videos on smartphones were watched through 75 percent completion.
