Mobile Devices Surge in Video Market
The young, it has often been observed, love their mobile electronic devices. This love is a powerful force in the entertainment market. Primarily because of heavy tablet and smart phone use by millennials and other young consumers, half of all online video starts will be on such devices by the end of the year.
Since 2011, use of mobile devices for watching video has skyrocketed. According to Ooyala, an Australian firm that provides platforms for managing and monetizing web video, the percentage of total online video starts that were streamed to mobile devices was in the low single digits in 2011. From that level, it grew exponentially. It reached 45% in June 2015, and is expected to exceed half of all online video starts by the end of this year.
Ooyala’s report was derived from its ‘anonymized online video metrics’. Its sources were more than five hundred clients, including NBC Universal, ESPN, Foxtel, SkySports, Univision, RTL (Germany), and Telstra, Australia’s largest telecommunications and media company. Telstra owns Ooyala.
A ‘start’ is an industry term for any online play of video, regardless of duration. The use of mobile devices was strongest in viewing of short form video (ten minutes or less), while wired TV sets and other stationary devices accounted for the majority of long form video plays (thirty minutes or more).
Still, the overall trend is undeniable: video devices are taking an ever greater share of the online video market.
Some of the subscription based video service providers are working to stay ahead of the trend. Dish Network led the way with Sling TV. This is an internet-only video streaming service. Customers don’t have to sign long term contracts, and don’t need to have equipment installed in their homes. With just a password, they can stream Sling TV programming to their tablets, smart phones, or other mobile devices. Cost for the service starts at only $20.00 per month.
Comcast followed its own internet video streaming service, though offering it only to its XFinity X1 subscribers for now. Verizon offers its own version, Go90. This name is derived from a smart phone having to be tilted 90 degrees for watching video in landscape mode. AT&T has announced that it will soon launch its own internet video streaming service.
Streaming video on mobile devices may not be for everyone. It may be for you, though, if you like to watch video away from home, you don’t want equipment installed on your house, or you live in an apartment.
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