Mobile devices to account for 50% of online video views by 2016

Watching content on mobiles and tablets will account for half of all online video views by 2016, according to research by video streaming and analytics provider Ooyala.

In its Q4 2013 Global Video Index, Ooyala said that mobile and tablet online viewing had increased by 719% since Q4 2011.

“The year-over-year growth validates the opportunity for broadcasters to build and monetise cross-device experiences, and for advertisers to reach more audiences as mobile and tablet viewers multiply,” said the firm.

At the current rate of growth, Ooyala said that mobiles and tablets would account for 50% of online videos in two years, and that in Q4 2013 alone, the time consumers spent watching video on mobile and tablets already exceeded a quarter of all online viewing.

“More than half of mobile viewers’ time was spent watching video longer than 30 minutes in Q4, compared to 35% for tablet users. Additionally mobile video share of plays increased by 21% from Q3 to Q4 2013,” according to Ooyala.

Among the other findings of the video index report was that tablets streamed live content nearly twice more than VoD content and that tablet share grew 6% over the course of the year, while mobile share of all videos played grew at 10 times that rate.

Ooyala also said that viewers watched, on average, more than 42 minutes of live video per play on connected TVs, and nearly 35 minutes per play on PCs.