Mobile and tablet share of online video views increased 133 percent between September 2012 and September 2013, according to a new report from Ooyala.

Younger generations are increasingly watching TV and videos on mobile devices, away from their living rooms. As tablet TV, mobile media and second-screen viewing continues to grow, media publishers must strategize to reach connected audiences on all screens.

"Getting your message to audience across all devices is no longer a nice-to-have, it's imperative," said Simon Jones, director of product marketing at Ooyala, Silicon Valley, CA. "Smart connected devices as a whole are starting to catch up with PCs in terms of shipments.

"IDC says tablets will out ship PCs by the end of 2015," he said. "A large percentage of the phones and generally all tablets connect to fast networks and have great video capabilities that make video viewing a natural case, especially among younger demographics who are increasingly not buying into traditional TV packages."

Consumers view mobile
Ooyala's "Q3 2013 Global Video Index" reported findings from nearly 200 million unique monthly viewers in 130 countries.

Mobile, tablet and video viewing helps brands and retailers sell products, according to Mr. Jones. Ooyala video publishers include Bloomberg, ESPN and Sephora.

Mobile video advertising is increasingly a significant part of brands' mobile strategies, given that mobile video views continue to grow rapidly and ad offerings also are improving (see story).

"Research has shown for years that people are much more likely to purchase an item after watching video," Mr. Jones said. "It's time people stopped thinking less about one-to-many 'broadcast blast' advertising, and more about better understanding how their audience interacts with content and ads across all devices. Ooyala's data provides that insight."

A bar graph from the Ooyala report

Live video dominates
According to the Ooyala report, tablet and mobile video plays increased 74 percent since January.

Live video drove higher viewer engagement than video-on-demand. Tablet video viewers watched live video twice as long as on-demand media.

Live linear streaming, breaking news, live sports and special events online especially attract viewers. Fifteen percent of all streamed video in Q3 was streamed to tablets and mobile devices, which was a new record.

Mr. Jones said that mobile and tablet video viewing is expected to continue growing in 2014. Mobile video viewing is growing in popularity.
 
"Primarily because you can do it on your own schedule, in your down time, on commutes, wherever," Mr. Jones said. "But other factors play into it ? social network triggers for viewing a piece of shared content are often seen on your phone or tablet first, for example.

"And there is a lot of content you simply only have access to via mobile or tablet apps," he said. "International and collegiate sports are another example of content that can be impossible or expensive to find on your TV but are provided via an app experience powered by companies like Ooyala." 

Video viewers spent about 60 percent of their time watching premium, long-form content, according to the report. Mobile retailers can learn from that information to serve consumers relevant videos.

"They need to be sophisticated about how they approach ad campaigns," Mr. Jones said. "Ads can now be matched much more accurately to content and individual viewers that are increasingly out of the home."

Long-form video advances
Other key findings from the report include viewership of long-form, premium streaming media on all connected screens is growing. Tablet TV viewers spend 25 percent of their viewing time watching videos, which were 60 minutes or longer.

Mobile video viewers spent 57 percent of their total viewing time watching videos longer than 10 minutes in Q3. More than 20 percent of mobile video viewing time was spent streaming content more than one hour long.

"[Mobile and tablet video views are] a fast-growing category," Mr. Jones said.

Final Take
Kari Jensen is staff writer on Mobile Marketer, New York