Viewers tolerance of buffering falling, says Conviva

Viewers tolerance of buffering when viewing online video declined sharply between 2011-12, while UK online video publishers were only able to deliver 23.5% of video at optimal quality last year, according to a study by quality assurance specialist Conviva.

Conviva said that 31% of UK viewers experienced playback problems over the last 12 months. According to the company’s 2013 Viewer Experience Report, in 2011 a 1% increase in buffering resulted in three minutes less of viewing time per view of long-form content. By 2012, the same 1% increase to eight minutes lost in viewing time per view for similar content.

Conviva found that viewing on mobile phones and connected TVs was growing significantly, while iPhones and iPads accounted for approximately 12% of total online streams played globally in April 2012, leading Android devices by 10%.