Online Video: Going Long(er), Better

“Online video distribution continues to redefine television around the world,” said Bismarck Lepe, cofounder and president of products for Ooyala.

  Analytics firm Ooyala tracked the online video viewing habits of more than 200 million unique online users from over 120 countries around the world - and found that tablet owners watched 54% more videos in the third quarter than at the start of the year.  The great dichotomy in online video is between short-form videos (generally clips and UGC shorts, under 10 minutes in length) and long-form videos (10+ minutes, generally professionally produced - TV shows, movies, live event streams, etc.).  And with the emergence and widespread adoption of new viewing options, online video viewers are developing preferences among their viewing options.  For long-form video, screen size and viewing comfort seem to matter. 

 
For those users that have a TV set connected to the Net (via connected TV (CTV), game console (GC), or other OTT device), 94% of their online video viewing time was with long-form videos.  More than 40% of viewing time was for videos an hour or longer. Tablets are rapidly becoming the mobile device of choice for watching long-form videos, passing smartphones and desktops in the last few months in terms of the time spent watching online videos. More than 70% of tablet viewing was of long-form programming, up from 46% of viewing time in Q1 2012.  A full 30% of tablet viewing time was of videos at least an hour long.

  The study also found an increase in the time spent watching long-form videos through game consoles and connected TVs.  Those devices seemed to be the preferred venue for watching live streaming - the time spent watching live streaming on those devices doubled in the last six months.  The report also found that live streaming viewers were "more engaged" that those watching recorded content (i.e., VOD).

"Break engagement down by device and content length, and the same engagement patterns emerge. The most engaged viewers are watching on tablets and connected TVs and gaming consoles." 

   The results suggest a promising future for online delivery of "high-end" video content.  Diffusion of connected devices that can bring streamed high quality content to your TV (CTV/GC) or your lap (tablets), along with improved high-speed broadband connectivity, are providing audiences with increased options.  Studies like this are showing that use of those viewing options is growing, and becoming a viable alternative or substitute for traditional content delivery media.  There's also suggestions here that the connected/tablet options can be as engaging to the viewer - and valued enough that 1 in 4 tablet owners subscribe to a premium content service while online video advertising revenues are growing around 50% annually.  This suggests that there's money to be made in promoting connected devices and putting your content online.


Sources - Tablets Become Second TV, Viewers Watch Longer Videos More Frequently, VidBlog
Tablet TV Takes Off,  VideoMind
(Ooyala blog)
Ooyala Releases Global Video Index,  VideoMind (Ooyala blog)
Access the report at Ooyala Global Video Index site, and grab the infographic here