IAB looks at trends relative to mobile video consumption as industry invests heavily
As mobile video consumption becomes more and more widely adopted, consumers are apparently getting comfortable watching longer videos on their smartphones and tablets.
That’s according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which survey consumers in 24 countries on the mobile video consumption habits.
According to the report, mobile video on time increased by 50% in the last year in the United States; 42% in Canada and New Zealand; 42% in South Africa and 40% in the United Kingdom.
IAB notes that the trend of mobile video streaming has had the expected impact of reducing traditional television viewership numbers.
Another emerging consumer behavior considered in the report is so-called “dual screening,” which is when a person is watching traditional TV and mobile video simultaneously.
“The popularity of digital video is evident across small screens the world over,” Anna Bager, senior vice president of mobile and video for IAB said in a statement.
“The fact that people are not only watching short snippets of programming, but committing to longer form content on their phones, opens doors for brands to be part of this impressive mobile engagement.”
Many tech heavyweights are ramping up the emphasis on mobile content delivery. For instance, Swedish networking firm Ericsson heavily promoted its Content Delivery Network solutions during Mobile World Congress this year in Barcelona, Spain, and Apple is reportedly set to invest in data center upgrades and a proprietary high-speed transport network to support streaming demand.
The IAB report identifies YouTube as the leading platform for access to mobile video services, with 62% of respondents identifying the decade old programming website as their primary source of engagement.
Social media platforms, search results and advertising, in that order, were the other sources of mobile video content.
In keeping with its organization mission, IAB also dug into the potential for monetization of mobile video advertising.
“Audiences around the world are overwhelmingly open to mobile video advertisements that relate to their content and viewing patterns,” Joe Laszlo, senior director for IAB’s Mobile Marketing Center of Excellence.
“Clearly, this is a real boon to global marketers that want to ensure they reach the audience segments most likely to be interested in their products or services.”
