Watching OTT video on tablets is becoming more commonplace, according to Ooyala’s 1Q’16 Global Video Index (GVI).
The OTT video services market is booming as industry leaders expand and startups launch new services, according to Prominent among them, Netflix launched in 130 new market territories in January in its ongoing bid ¨to create a global Internet TV network,¨ Ooyala principal analyst and Videomind editor Jim O’Neill highlighted.
That served to give competitors worldwide the ¨hotfoot¨ to accelerate their own expansion and launch agendas. Among them, both AT&T and Hulu announced they’re working to develop virtual OTT video MSOs in the U.S. Hulu expects its platform will be ready for launch in 2017.
In addition, the number of subscribers to the new Sling TV – which includes content from Fox but not ESPN – is approaching 1 million. Starz also is readying the launch of a new OTT service, O’Neill highlights.
Ooyala has also heard rumors that YouTube is planning a virtual MVPD play in addition to its YouTube Red SVOD service.
Social media companies also stepped up their involvement in the OTT video market. Twitter signed a deal for NFL Thursday Night Football. And Facebook continued to expand its OTT video presence, garnering more than 100 million hours of streamed content in 4Q´15.
In addition, Facebook, with Ooyala as its media solutions partner, launched Facebook Live early in 2Q´16. The new platform makes it simpler and easier for broadcasters and video publishers to syndicate their official broadcasts to Facebook, O’Neill explains.
OTT Video on Tablets
In its 1Q´16 GVI, Ooyala examines key OTT video market statistics and notes the following associated trends:
- Viewers are demanding more quality: Data shows that viewers are less tolerant than ever of quality problems. They’re more forgiving on live streams, but buffering and slow join times on VOD lead to drop-offs of 40% or more. Viewers also remain a bit impatient in general: shorter video is still watched to completion more often than longer video on all devices.
- After a long flatline, watching OTT video on tablets is gaining traction, particularly during the day. In the evenings it’s all about mobile with tablets, likely driven by viewing of SVOD content and second-screen applications. But a closer look at the data shows that workday video starts on tablets and mobile devices are now gaining ground on PCs. It’s part of a gradual evolution that has seen mobile devices become more ubiquitous in the workplace than traditional workstations. Nearly one in five (18%) of all mobile views are now on tablets, the third consecutive quarter of growth.
- Ad reinsertion is saving publishers millions. The ad-blocking battle continues, and it remains a growing threat to publishers and broadcasters who stand to lose as much as $27 billion in potential ad revenue by 2021. But ad reinsertion technology is taking the battle to the ad blockers, boosting ad impressions by as much as 23%. That’s earning big publishers millions every year.
- Business models remain a challenge. Will subscription (SVOD), ad-supported (AVOD) or hybrid models win? Or will there be a more widely-accepted hybrid model like HBO’s — which offers operator-based subscriptions, TV Everywhere bonuses (HBO Go), and a direct-to-consumer play in HBO Now? So far, the numbers don’t show a clear winner.
Image courtesy of flickr user Kirill Kniazev.
