Mobile phones and tablets now account for nearly half (46%) of all online video viewership worldwide, having increased from 34% to 46% from 4Q 2014 to 4Q 2015, according to Ooyala’s Q4 2015 Global Video Index. Rapid growth is fueling a steep rise in mobile advertising, with programmatic transactions increasing 160% year-over-year (YoY), researchers said.
Highlighting rapid growth in mobile advertising, the number of Deal-ID programmatic ad trading transactions on Ooyala’s platform more than doubled from 3Q-4Q, increasing from 10.1 million to 26.3 million. It was the third consecutive quarter in which growth exceeded 150%.
Furthermore, the number of Ooyala’s active programmatic mobile ad marketplaces increased 21% quarterly. That, in turn, led to higher demand and higher CPMs, which increased 26%.
Online Video Viewership Trends
Viewing of long-form digital video (more than 10 minutes in duration) via connected TVs also continued to grow, increasing 72% in 2015, up sharply from 43% in 1Q´15, 53% in 2Q and 71% in 3Q. Overall, long-form video viewing rose to account for 74% of total mobile video views in 4Q, Ooyala highlights.
The results indicate viewers are more inclined to watch long-form video on larger connected TV screens than other devices as more people connect smart TVs to the Internet and more premium content is made available, Ooyala notes. In contrast, long-form video viewing accounted for 51% of total tablet online video viewing, 38% for desktop PCs and 31% for mobile devices.
Six million more Americans connected their smart TVs to the Internet in the past year, bringing market penetration to 49 million, or 52%, NPD Group highlighted in its latest market research report.
Other highlights from Ooyala’s Q4 2015 Global Video Index include:
- Total mobile plays grew 35% in the past year and 170% since 2013.
- Tablets made up 14% of mobile plays, up from 12% in Q2 and Q3, representing only the second time ever tablet plays increased since 2013.
Commenting on the overall results, CEO Ramesh Srinivasan said: “The analysis from the recent Video Index shows the convergence of multiple factors in the market – from regional mobile adoption, consumer behaviors on specific devices and buying preferences between publishers and their advertisers – and gives a macro view of new trends in the industry. Quarter after quarter, the opportunity to build more lucrative and successful businesses with video becomes clearer as mobile-first strategies continue to grow in importance.”
Image courtesy of flickr user Kirill Kniazev.
