Infographic shows rise of online video viewing

From the fine folks at ComScore:

Some highlights:

-- Broadcast network live viewing down 30% over last 5-6 years
-- 87% of US Internet users report regular online video viewing
-- 40% of online video viewing is done on mobile devices
-- 15% of internet users report watching video on smartphones daily

-- viewing on tablets and OTT are leading a shift to online video viewing

Source:  ComScore Infographic Shows Marketers Where the Viewers Are,  OnlineVideo.net

Different Tablets, Different Uses

From the Wall Street Journal - a comparison of tablet uses.

What's interesting is that iPad and Galaxy tablets are used in pretty much the same ways, but Kindle Fire usage is different.  Actually, that's not really surprising - the Kindle Fire is optimized for consuming media content and other entertainment-related uses (like gaming).  So it's really no surprise that Kindle owners are twice as likely to use their tablets for reading e-books and playing games.  I wouldn't be too surprised that the Kindle did well with online video as well.

Source  - Data Point: People Really Like to Read on Their Kindle Fires,  Digits (Wall Street Journal blog)

E-book reading gains sparked by increase in device ownership

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has release a report on "E-Reading."  The report notes that readership remains strong among American adults, with about three-quarters indicating that they had read at least one book in the last year - levels that have remained fairly consistent across Pew's studies from 2011 to 2014.  On the other hand, those reporting they have read an e-book have increased significantly, from 17% in 2011 to 28% in 2014.

One of the factors for the increased e-book readership is the rapid diffusion of handheld readers - in the form of dedicated readers like the Kindle, and/or in the form of tablets.  The study reports that, currently, half of Americans own tablets and/or e-readers.   In fact, e-book readers are almost as likely (55%) to use tablets for reading as they use e-readers (57%).

Tablet ownership growth and diffusion now outpaces that for e-readers.  In May, 2010, only 3% of American adults reported owning a table, growing to 42% by early January, 2014.  E-reader ownership was at 4% in May, 2010, rising to 32% in the latest survey.  As you'd expect, there are demographic differences in device ownership, those reporting reading at least one book (or ebook) a year, and in the number of books read annually.  However, only a few differences were sizable -

• Older Americans, those with less than a high school education, and lower income, were all less likely to own handheld devices for reading.
• In a bit of a surprise, younger adults (18-29) were also much less likely to have e-readers than tablets.
• Hispanics were much less likely to report having read a book in the last year, both in print and e-book formats.
• Age mattered in reporting having read an e-book (the older the less likely), but not in reading print books.
• More women reported reading a book than men (74% v 64% for printed books; 33% v 23% for e-books)
• E-book readers haven't abandoned print - 87% of those reading an e-book also report reading a printed book.

When asked about how many books they've read, the mean for all adults was 12, while the median was 5.  In other words, half read at least 5 books a year, and some portion read much more (for the mean to be that much higher requires that there be a lot of people who read a great deal more than that).  I can support that anecdotally - I read 30-50 books a year, and when I managed a used book store I had customers who read 10-20 books a week.

The study shows that women are not only more likely than men to have read a book, they also tend to read more books in a year.  Again, the other noticeable drop-off is for those self-identifying as Hispanic.  While there is likely some interaction effects with other demographic factors, I wonder if language (and the relative scarcity of Spanish-language books in the U.S.) might also be a contributing factor.

As an avid e-reader, I've noticed that I'm running across more and more non-English language books in the Kindle and iBook stores - but still nowhere near the number and variety of English-language books.  So relative scarcity and lack of diversity of Spanish-language books may be a contributing factor in the lower readership levels among Hispanics.

Source -  E-Reading Rises as Device Ownership Jumps,  Pew Internet & American Life Project report.

Viva la Revolution Mobile

From CIO Insight - 10 Awesome Facts About the Mobile Revolution slideshow.

Several highlight the scale and scope of mobile, mobile data, and mobile broadband

• There are more than 6.7 global mobile subscriptions, 30% for smartphones
• Global subscriptions for mobile broadband will pass 2 billion this year, projected to hit 8 billion by end of 2019
• Subscriptions for mobile PCs, tablets, and mobile routers are projected to grow from 300 million currently, to 750 million by 2019
• In 2009, there was more voice traffic on the mobile network than data traffic.  Today, data traffic is more than 9 times higher than voice traffic.
• Data traffic per smartphone currently averages 600 MB per month, expected to hit 2200 MB per month by 2019
• Data traffic per tablet currently averages 1000 MB/mo; will hit 4500 MB/mo  by 2019.  Mobile PC data traffic currently averages 3300 MB/mo, projected to reach 13,000 MB/mo in 2019
• By 2019, 95% of North American will have LTE (mobile broadband) coverage.  Globally, about 2/3 of the world's population will have LTE access.

A significant contributor to the mobile revolution is the growth of online video options and services, social media, and various entertainment/gaming options

• By 2019, half of mobile data traffic will derive from video.
• Smartphone owners spend, on average, 13 hours monthly on social networking, 8 hours on entertainment, and 6 hours gaming.

The impact may be greatest in Asia, where the growth of mobile broadband provides quick and relatively cheap access to the Net and its content and services to some of the world's most populous countries.

• China alone has 1.2 mobile subscriptions, and India 742 million.  The rest of the Asia-Pacific region includes a further 1.3 billion subscriptions.  In contrast, Africa accounts for 803 million subscriptions, and Latin America 697 million.

The numbers and forecasts come from the most recent Ericsson Mobility Report.

Source -   10 Awesome Facts About the Mobile Revolution,  CIO Insight
Ericsson Mobility Report - November 2013

Tablets and Magazines - Apps not the solution?

In an article in GigaOm, Jon Lund discusses some not-so-good signs for the long-term viability of tablet magazines: 

I fear the app-based tablet approach to magazines leads straight to oblivion, at least for individual magazine titles.

The problem is that dedicated magazine apps may be getting lost among the multitude of apps on smartphones and tablets.  

Last year, Nielsen estimated the average mobile user has 41 apps on his or her smartphone. In April, a Flurry study showed the average smartphone user opens only eight apps a day, with the most popular being Facebook, YouTube and game apps. And according to a 2012 report from Localytics, 22 percent of all apps are only opened once.

Getting lost in the flood of online information is a problem for all online content - but offset somewhat by the ability to find content through search engines.  But there's a problem with stand-alone magazine apps - search engines don't access apps, so that a magazine's app content isn't indexed, and won't show up on searches.  Similarly, social features within magazine apps are constrained to the app - which really limits connectivity that is at the heart of the social media experience.  And if the app is only updated with new issues, it's up to the reader to remember when to check the app for new content. 

Lund's point is that distributing the magazine online through an app, rather than as a website or other open access platform, lessens its value to online readers.  And that can be reflected in the willingness to pay for a "digital replica" subscription.  Lund looks at the 25 bestselling digital replication editions as measured by the Alliance for Audited Media.  Of the top 25, the digital replication shares of total circulation are in the single digits for 16 titles; the average share of digital replication is 12%.

He also notes that a lot of the reported online reading of magazines is coming from aggregating and curating services like Flipbook and Zite, or from referrals to website content shared through Twitter and Facebook.  Those seem to be the online future for magazines, not as "digital replicas" of print versions.

I believe the future for producing quality content for niches is both bright and promising. But it has to be presented openly, socially, in flow — not in closed tablet apps.

Source -  Why tablet magazines are a failure,  GigaOm

Tablets to top PCs by 2015

A new report from IDC (International Data Corp.) says that the  number of tablets shipped globally will pass the number of PCs shipped in the final quarter of this year.  In 2013, they call for tablet sales to gain 27%, while PC sales fall 10%.  IDC research analyst Megha Saini indicated that the emergence of lower-priced devices and trade-in programs will be a major game changer in the connected devices marketplace.  The report also indicated that the smartphone market rebounded in 2013 after a slowdown in growth rates last year, and that new larger smartphones, or 'phablets', is likely to eat into small tablet sales over the next couple of years, slowing the rate of growth in that sub-market.

Source -  IDC: Tablet Shipments Will Top Total PC Shipments Annually By 2015,  MSPMentor

Infographic: Tablets and TV Viewing

Some key points from a research study by YuMe.com and IPG Media Lab.

Tablet users watch videos on their tablets beyond the home.  While 100% of tablet video viewers reported doing so at home, 66% also reported doing so while on vacation, 36% did so at a friend's home, 22% watched videos while commuting, 22% watched at work, and 13% watched while at a restaurant or bar.
Two thirds (65%) reported watching more than an hour a day.  They reported watching for a longer time on weekends than weekdays.
Those surveyed reported a very slightly lower likelihood of multitasking while watching videos on tablets than through other devices (to be precise, 85% reported multitasking while watching videos on tablets, compared to 86% using cell phones, 87% using PCs to watch videos, and 97% who watched on TVs.)
The number one multitasking distraction across all devices was eating, while the number two was tied to primary device characteristics.

Watching video on TVs is typically a group activity (only 5% report that they usually/always watch videos alone on TV sets), while tablet viewing is more solitary (33% report usually/always watching videos on tablets while alone).

Sources -  Is the Tablet the ULTIMATE Video Viewing Device? Infographic from YuMe.com

Milepost: Android Tops Apple for Tablet OS

The number of tablets shipped from manufacturers more than doubled over the last year, according to a report from IDC.  They reported 49.2 million tablets were shipped in the first quarter of 2013 - more than in the first half of 2012.  Apple remains the top manufacturer, accounting for 19.2 million units, followed by Samsung.  Microsoft entered the Top 5, shipping some 900,000 of its Surface and Surface Pro tables, but still being outgunned 2-1 by Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet.
However, with multiple tablet models and manufacturers using the Android operating system, it's been gaining share from Apple'  In the last quarter (1Q13), 56.5% of the units shipped ran on Android OS, compared to 39.6% running Apple iOS - a virtual flip in positions from the first quarter of 2012.  Windows operating systems cracked the tablet market, with the Windows and Windows RT OS installed on a combined 3.7% of the tablets shipped.

Source - Android Tablets Edge Out iPad: IDC,  Information Week

UK sees boom in digital reading - Infographic

The 2012 National Readership Survey showed significant growth in the use of digital devices for reading newspaper and magazine content with use of tablets and other e-readers doubling, for both magazine and newspaper content.  While they report ownership of those devices was fairly low at the time of the survey, the results indicated that such devices are widely used by their owners for reading newspaper content (44%) and magazine content (27%).  And diffusion of tablets and e-readers continues to expand, suggesting that the importance of digital reading will continue to grow, becoming a significant means of reaching readers.

Source -  National Readership Survey infographic illustrates rise in digital magazine and newspaper reading,  journalism.co.uk

Goin' Mobile: Impact on Movies

Results from the 2012 Nielsen NRG American Moviegoing report show that smartphone and tablet owners watch more movies in theaters, and spend more going to movies, than the average moviegoer.
  Tablet owners had the greatest impact, watching 20% more films over the course of a year, and spending 35% more on entertainment per month than the average U.S. consumer.  They were also 24% more likely to purchase movie tickets online, and 27% more likely to see a movie more than once.  Smartphone owners (now half of U.S. consumers) had similar, albeit smaller, impacts - watching 9% more movies.
  It's hard to attach causality to any one factor, but 30% of moviegoers said their decision to attend specific movies were influenced by comments coming from social networks.  Viewing previews remains the most-cited source of information, and mobile allows easy access to previews.

Kathy Benjamin, SVP, Nielsen NRG, noted that “As mobile connectivity continues to increase, (the film industry will) want to take advantage of the great avenue that social networks offer to connect directly with potential moviegoers.”

Mobile expands user's ability to access information, arguably making them better-informed consumers.  Or at least more accessible to marketing efforts.

  In general, the report didn't suggest a lot of shifts in the movie-going audience, which raises a central question in these kinds of research studies - did mobile cause more movie-going; or were the folks who went to more movies also likely to have and use mobile devices to find information on movies?

You can't be certain about what the actual causes are, but it's becoming clear from studies about mobile and various media, that the mobile-owning audiences are developing media use habits different from the average consumer.

Source -  Tablet, Smartphone Owners Make Better Moviegoers, Marketing Daily

CES: TV Goes for Wow Factor

Here's some of the TV industry highlights from CES:

UltraHDTV (UHD) & displays - The industry's settled on the name (and standards) for the next improvement in video screen resolution.  This step has actually been in use for a while in the movie industry as 4K, as older analog film stock is increasingly digitized at 4K (3840x2160 P) or 8K resolutions (7690x4320 P) prior to digital processing (cleaning, color correction, etc.) of the movie to create the digital archive version - which is then downconverted to HDTV or NTSC formats and resolutions for home video or licensing.

  However, until this year there were only a few 4K displays available to consumers, and those were extremely expensive.  This year, in contrast, most of the major TV set manufacturers displayed new consumer UHD displays at CES.  Along with 4K displays running from 20" to 110" were several promising 4K 3-D, and a couple of consumer 8K sets (including the 85" 8K from Sharp displayed to the side). However, there remains the problem of a lack of 4K or 8K programming sources. 
  The new 4K sets, and a few BluRay players, can upconvert current signals to 4K, but at this time there's little content available to consumers in native 4K formats.
  NHK has been experimenting with higher resolution cameras, and transmitting the resulting 4K content over the Internet for several years. South Korea reportedly has an experimental test channel for UHD, and the BBC filmed some of last summer's Olympics in 4K and distributed the content to several public 4K displays.  More recently, Red Digital Cinema Camera Company, a prominent digital film camera manufacturer, announced the availability of a player capable of sending a native 4K signal to a single 4K display.  And NHK announced it will be demonstrating 8K broadcasting (7680x4320P video format that provides 16 times more pixels than HDTV, and a 22.2 multichannel audio system that produces a 3D sound space for viewers located anywhere within a large viewing area) in a special theater at the NAB Show in a few months.  A few cable MSOs have indicated an interest in offering 4K channels, and Sony is promising a 4K movie downloading service to be launched this summer.

Organic LED (OLED) displays -  I think these have been "hot prospects" for almost a decade, and certainly the technological potential of OLED displays (environmentally friendly, high contrast, and the potential for flexible screens and unlimited sizes) is worthy of the hype.  The problem's been ramping the theoretical technology up to commercially viable manufacturing levels.  (And don't confuse true LED or OLED displays with flatscreen LCD screens using LED for backlighting - which is what most TVs marketed as "LEDs" really are).
  OLED's potential as mass consumer TV displays seems to still be sometime in the future (promised availability keeps being pushed back), but there were a some leading-edge options on display at CES.  Samsung displayed a 55-inch "multiview" OLED that displayed two separate programs on the same screen (upper right in image to the side).  It builds on the 3-D approach of using active viewing glasses to distinguish the two signals, allowing the viewer to choose which one to watch.  The higher contrast and faster signal switching of OLEDs allows this to work on very different program contents (in 3-D, they're basically the same image with slight offsets in perspectives).  For it's part, LG displayed a curved OLED 3-D display.  And Panasonic offered their first 4K OLED display.  However, Sony took a hit when it's 4K OLED offering failed to work during their big press conference at CES (see story and video here), although they did get it to work later in their booth.
  The major set manufacturers once again promised that consumer OLED sets would be available within the year, but as I mentioned, they've been saying that for a long time, with little actually to show.

Touch-screen computing offerings also went for the Wow factor, with a big push from Microsoft and its Windows 8 operating system.  Samsung was there with a 24-inch touchscreen monitor, while Panasonic displayed a 20-inch tablet offering 4K resolution.  Higher resolution screens was an emphasis on most traditional tablets on display. New offerings also seemed to focus on splitting the tablet market - with many stressing computing power and compatibility, while others focus on the devices' ability to handle media content and/or gaming.

And for those not into big and beautiful, there were the Mobile DTV offerings (principally DyleTV).  These don't refer to watching TV on mobile devices through traditional TV tuners and broadcast stations, or the ability to download and watch videos from the Internet.  Several groups are experimenting with using parts of the current broadcast spectrum to broadcast specially formatted (lower resolution and reframed for smartphone screen orientations) television signals.  While DyleTV is already offering access to some local TV channels in some markets, Mobile DTV has a way to go before its consumer-ready (and consumer-friendly).


Sources  - Display Technology Takes Center Stage at 2013 International CES,  TV TechCheck
NHK to do First 8K U.S. Broadcast Demo at NAB Show, TV Technology
10 Best Tablets of CES 2013, Laptop Mag

BI's Future of Digital - Mobile

Last, but not least among the areas covered by the BI Intelligence slide show at the IGNITION: Future of Digital conference last week is the Mobile sector.  Here's some highlights -

 As pointed out in my initial post - mobile is booming.  The explosive growth is driven by two complementary trends - the expansion of broadband networks (especially wireless broadband), and technology going "tiny."
  By "tiny", I'm talking about the continued miniturazation of digital devices - we've gone from mainframes filling a large room, to desktop minicomputers, to lug-able portables and laptops.  Now, smartphones and tablets offer more speed and processing power than mainframes, combined with screens and batteries capable of providing a day's service on the move.  And as with everything digital, capabilities continue to grow even as prices drop.  Today, mobile devices are outselling desktops and laptops, offering personal connectivity and 24/7 net access wherever service is available.
  Broadband Internet access is poised for explosive growth.  With fiber replacing coax in terrestrial fixed networks, telecomm operators have been able to offer high-speed (high-bandwidth) digital connections to users.  As the fiber infrastructure extended closer to the home, the bandwidth available to users increased.  Now, the definition of "broadband" (i.e. available bandwidth or data transmission speed) varies a great deal - one international standards group set a minimum speed for "broadband" of 1.5 Mbs, but the latest FCC report on broadband diffusion in the U.S. looked at services offering speeds from 1 Mbps to 50 Mbps.  In the meantime, Gigabit broadband networks (1 Gbps, or 1000Mbps) are being tested in Kansas City (Google) and Chattanooga, TN (provided by local power utility).

  Still, what's driving the rapid expansion of mobile isn't coming from the fixed networks, but the rise and growth of wireless broadband.  Wireless broadband began with local Wifi hubs bringing broadband capabilities to mobile devices - but with very restricted range per hub.  (Wifi "N" standard can reach 300 Mbps).  Meanwhile, wireless telecomm operators have been making inroads in their ability to handle data services.  3G wireless networks can offer data access speeds approaching the low end of what's considered broadband speeds - depending on which system/standard being used, 3G can offer speeds up to 14-16 Mbps (shared).  Like Wifi, though, the available bandwidth is shared by however many users are downloading through the local hub/tower.  The big gain in this sector will come with the transition to 4G services.  As before, there are multiple technologies and standards falling under the 4G umbrella, but they all offer data speeds between 20 Mbps up to 300 Mbps (and one claims that data speeds can reach 1 Gbps under ideal conditions). Other wireless broadband networks are being discussed, from interconnected Wifi networks to wholly data wireless services in newly available areas of radio spectrum, that could expand access and bandwidth.
  There's extensive diffusion of fixed telecomm networks offering  broadband in industrialized areas - but terrestrial networks remain costly, which limits their viability in rural areas and poorer countries.  The explosion of cellular provides a much cheaper option for bringing Internet connectivity and data services in those areas.  Already 90% of the world's population live in 2G service areas, and thus have Internet access with "smart" mobile devices.  Global mobile penetration hit 87% early this year.  As for broadband, almost half (45%) the world's people live in areas with 3G service that currently provides low-end broadband access, and Ericsson is predicting that half of the people of the world will have 4G access within five years (85% will have 3G service).

  Studies are showing that people are adopting connected mobile devices (i.e. smartphones and tablets) and using them for a lot more than talking to people.  Mobile users are increasingly using their devices to access a wide range of content and programming - and doing so while they also use traditional media content formats.
  Around 40% of smartphone owners report using their devices while watching TV on a daily basis, more than 60% do so at least several times a week, and about 85% report multitasking at least monthly.

  They're also beginning to show that mobile devices are impacting traditional media habits and usage patterns.  Streaming music listening is shifting to mobile: 70% of Pandora listening goes through mobile devices, 55% of music listening via Twitter is on mobile, as is a third of music listening through Facebook. A recent study by NPD Group (see this post) suggested that people are increasingly listening to Internet radio or other streamed music services - and that listening through personal mobile devices is replacing listening to music on physical discs.
  Mobile's also starting to impact news consumption (see this post), watching recorded online videos and TV programming (check here); watching live events); and magazine reading.  Not only are tablets emerging as viable alternative for media consumption, their ability to expand access and consumption options are starting to change long-established traditional media behaviors.

  Still, the preeminent concern is whether content and online service providers can benefit financially from the shift to mobile devices.  Research suggests that mobile users can and will pay for content read and viewed through mobile devices.  In the U.S. more than half of mobile users report that they've paid for books, movies, and music consumed through personal media devices.  Other research suggests that tablets, in particular, are becoming the preferred medium for consuming online content.

  As for the advertising potential of mobile devices, that's emerging - although at this point it's not seen as competitive (the screen's too small, the audience too fragmented, etc.)  While the effective CPM (cost per thousand exposures) for online ads going through desktops is around $3.50, but averages $0.75 for online ads delivered through mobile devices.  Mobile online advertising is also going primarily to web portals (Google gets over 60%).  Still, mobile online advertising market is in its early stages, and should grow rapidly.

While online advertising will grow, for mobile as well as generally, for now the dominant mechanism for monetizing mobile lies in apps.  Apps are dominating mobile device use, and are generating significant revenue growth.
  Apps also have a variety of ways that they can generate revenues.  Money can come from purchasing the app outright, and it can also come from in-app commerce (advertising, or purchasing upgrades or special content/features).  How big is in-app commerce?  Two-thirds of the top-grossing iPhone apps actually generate all of their revenue though in-app commerce.  That is, they're free to download apps that make money from people's continued use of the app.  In-app commerce is widely used in iPhone and Android apps (93% of top 100 iPhone apps include in-app commerce features).
  At this point, Apple's iOS platform is dominating mobile revenues, accounting for three quarters of app revenues in 2011, and around 70% of Ecommerce-related traffic from mobile devices.  However, the latest rounds of Android OS smartphones and tablets are matching Apple's technical capabilities at lower price points, and are beginning to eat into Apple's share of device OS for smartphones (Android has already overtaken Apple in this segment) and tablets (Apple still dominates, but Android is overtaking).  Eventually, the revenues will follow the leading OS/device pairings.

  So is mobile real? Here's one last slide illustrating the growth in sales of mobile devices.

Certainly looks like connected mobile has a future.

Source - The Future of Digital [Slide Deck],  Business Insider

Tablets - Has Print Found Its Digital Analogue?

Traditional print media outlets didn't have a lot of success going online - at least not at first.  While poor management/judgement was a major contributing factor, I'd suggest that the lack of a convenient reading platform for digital content was just as critical.  You could bring print content to a desktop's screen, but the totality of print bundles (newspapers, magazines, etc.) didn't translate as well, and to be frank, the reading experience from desktops sucks.  You can't quickly skim contents, its not portable, and its tough to share.  News organizations did find audiences for their stories and content online - particularly among those with desktops at work (who could access stories piecemeal during breaks).  However, most news isn't unique - and the Internet also allowed a lot of competition to emerge.  Laptops added some portability, but in the early years were heavy and had low battery life - again not ideal for reading print media products.  Experiments with longer-form content, such as magazines and books, proved the viability of digital forms, but not the desirability of desktops and laptops for extended reading.
  Then came the development of eBook readers - lighter, portable, relatively inexpensive, good battery life, and with a screen size that mimics paperbacks.  The major success of the Amazon Kindle device combined with the Kindle eBook store started an explosion in digital book publishing (see earlier posts here and here).  While Amazon encouraged marketing deals with a number of magazine publishers and newspapers, neither was very successful - at least partially due to the Kindle form factor.  The smaller screen size that was fine for books didn't work as well for the larger magazine and newspaper formats.  In addition, magazines felt constrained by the lack of color and limited advertising opportunities.  Newspaper readers had to remember to download daily versions (via link to desktop or a less-than-ubiquitous Wifi connection), and the refresh delays of early e-Ink based readers proved frustrating for those wanting a quick skim of articles.
  Next came smartphones, which offered constant & widespread connectivity, was easily portable, and had decent battery life.  Amazon and other eBook sellers quickly offered free reader apps, but the tiny screen proved problematic for books and magazines.  With newspapers, however, smartphones opened a new niche market for news - as an access point for headlines and breaking news (particularly sports and weather), and with the possibility of providing apps that could push news to an interested readership.  Apps also facilitated monetization, whether through subscriptions, individualized ads, or sales (of focused apps).
  Then came the iPad.  It offered a sleek, highly-portable connected device with a large (comparably) color touchscreen.  For book publishing, it was like an eReader on steroids - larger, faster, with multimedia capabilities (audio, video, links) built-in, where the action to turn a page mimicked traditional media page-turning. (See earlier post)  Tablets weren't merely an option for reading device - they started expanding the concept of books and texts, and their markets (textbooks in particular, see here and here).  And most importantly, eBook readers weren't just reading more free books; they were buying more books (post on Harris study).  Adding tablets to the expanding eReader base has ramped up diffusion and the development of digital book publishing.
   The combination of the iPad and the Flipboard app provided an exemplary demonstration of the potential for tablets as a digital platform for magazines as well as news.  The iPad provided a high-resolution colour screen, which while smaller than most print magazine formats, was large enough to provide quality read that magazines sought.  Flipboard provided a test base for content bundling and reading experience that also came close to the magazine ideal - easily skimmed, able to integrate text and image, and to go deeper with a tap or continue to the next "page" with a swipe reminiscent of turning a page.  And the ability to seamlessly integrate advertising.  The experience is so exemplary that it passed 20 million users and 2000 content providers last summers.
   It would seem that tablets offer a viable digital platform for the consumption of traditionally print content forms, when combined with growing broadband access.  On the other hand, tablets are proving to be excellent platforms for Internet access, for delivering audio and video, as well as a good gaming platform, and a reasonable computing platform.  So the question for traditional print outlets is will readers embrace tablets, and how the rise of print through tablets will impact product demand.

  For the last year or so, a wide range of trade and academic studies suggest that tablets may provide a viable digital solution for print content delivery.  The latest study to come out is from analytics firm comScore,  They surveyed a rolling sample of U.S. tablet owners for three months, ending in August, and found that reading on tablets continues to increase.

“Tablets are fundamentally redefining how people consume news and information, with the format more conducive to reading longer form content than PCs or smartphones,” said Mark Donovan, comScore SVP of Mobile. “In the case of online newspapers, tablets are now driving 7 percent of total page views, an impressive figure considering the relative infancy of the tablet space. Publishers that understand how these devices are shifting consumption dynamics will be best positioned to leverage this platform to not only drive incremental engagement among current subscribers but also attract new readers.”

  More than a third (37.1%) of tablet owners use their device to read a newspaper at least once a month, and 11.5% report reading newspapers on their tablets daily.  Magazine readership through tablets was around the same - 39.6% read magazines on their tablets at least monthly, and 9.7% reported reading magazines on their tablets daily. Readership is highest among the 25-34 demographic.  An interesting aspect of the report was that tablet newspaper readers weren't very different from tablet magazine readers in terms of demographics, or in terms of the specific tablets that were used for reading (iPads, Android tablets, Kindle Fire, NOOK tablet). 

  The comScore study results, in terms of increasing use of tablets for media consumption, fall in line with a wealth of other studies.  And the consistency in user demographic breakdowns raises some interesting questions - is this a reflection of a audience segment of regular (heavy) readers, who use whatever platforms are available? Do they see tablets as a supplement to print outlets, a complement, or a substitute?
  At this point, I think that tablets are proving to be a valuable digital platform for the delivery of a wide range of traditional media content - and the first decent substitute for print.

Sources - Tablets Capturing Newspaper Viewers, Research Brief (MediaPost blog)
Tablets Reinvent Americans' Relationship with Print,  comScore press release

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

Mobiles and Work

A research study in Great Britain suggests that office workers spend an average of two extra hours a day dealing with office matters via smartphones and tablets.  The survey found that 90% of office workers have a mobile device capable of handling emails, and that a third of them report using their mobile devices more than 20 times a daily - and not only during office hours.
  Ninety percent of office workers say they take work-related calls and/or respond to work-related emails outside of their normal working hours.  Two thirds say they regularly check for work emails before going to bed and as soon as they work up.  One third admitted responding to work calls or emails in the middle of the night.

Ghadi Hobeika, marketing director of Pixmania (sponsor of the study), said: ‘The ability to access literally millions of apps, keep in contact via social networks and take photos and video as well as text and call has made smartphones invaluable for many people.
‘However, there are drawbacks. Many companies expect their employees to be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and smartphones mean that people literally cannot get away from work.
‘The more constantly in contact we become, the more is expected of us in a work capacity.’

Travel website TripAdvisor recently conducted a similar study, found that many people take work with them on vacation.  More than half of their sample indicated that they checked work emails daily while on vacation, and more than a third take calls from the office, or call into the office, during vacations.

  Critics suggest that mobile devices have contributed to "work addiction" fed by fears of losing one's job in these tough economic times.  Certainly, technological advances - particularly mobile telecommunications - are making it easier to stay connected to the world away from the workplace and home.  But by assigning a single motivation principal to these reported patterns of mobile usage, these critics seem to be suggesting that no other motivation might exist; that no one wants to work, never dealt with work issues while away from the office before smartphones, or finds personal value in staying connected.  There's a lot of reasons people want to stay connected, and lots of reasons why they occasionally want not to.  These studies report behaviors, but do not go into examining the motivations for those behaviors - and from a research perspective, we shouldn't try to claim knowing more than what the studies examine - use of specific devices during specific times.

Source -  Smartphones and tablets add two hours to the working day,  The Telegraph

A Big Week for Mobile - Hardware

The last week saw a number of events and stories on the mobile media front.

The last few weeks have seen a number of highly anticipated new tablet hardware releases, leading Laptop magazine to launch the "Tablet World Series."

   Apple announced the release of its highly-anticipated iPad mini, which seemed like a smaller iPad, with all the good (and not-so-good) that implies.  Tech people found it technologically impressive, but still hanging around the top end of the price market.  Apple also surprised the industry press a bit by also announcing a range of other product upgrades.
   While the iPad's main top-end competitor, the Samsung Galaxy Note, has been out a while, Samsung did recently upgrade to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet.  Samsung seems to have focused on focusing on the tablet as a business productivity tool.
   Microsoft followed the launch of its new "Surface" tablet and mobile-savvy Windows 8.  The Surface tablet has some innovative technology, and is a major shift in corporate strategy (developing its own computing hardware).  If the Surface does well in the tablet market, it could lead the way for further moves into hardware for what's essentially a software giant.
   A bit earlier, Google entered the hardware fray with the Nexus 7 tablet.  The Nexus 7 has been piling up accolades and Editor's Choice awards based on performance and low price (for a small 7") tablet, running the most current Android OS.
   Content-focused tablets from Barnes & Noble (the HD+) and Amazon (Kindle Fire HD) - both improvements over earlier e-readers and tablets, but still missing some features of what could be called "full-service" tablets.  Amazon's also innovating in the wireless broadband service arena, offering free Skype calling on all models, and offering a 4G data plan for $50/yr, (250 MB/month) for its top model.

   The tablet market's exploding with quality entrants offering a range of tablet options at a range of prices - and giving Apple's iPad some serious competition.  That should give potential buyers a range of viable options, and help hasten tablet adoption.  And continue the debate as to whether tablets or PCs will dominate the future of personal computing.

Sources -  With iPad Mini, Apple poised to shake up tablet market.  Again  c/Net
Tablet mania: The battle of the seven-inch tablets,  Washington Post
The New Era of Personal Computing, PC Mag

Goin' Mobile: Newspapers, Magazines Up

New research reports from ComScore and GfK include some good news for newspaper and magazine companies.
  Tablet owners are increasingly using their devices to access content from newspapers and magazines.

Tablets used to read …	Newspapers	Magazines
daily	11.5%	9.7%
at least weekly		13.3%
1-3 times a month	14.6%	16.7%
once a month	37.1%	39.6%

Currently tablet use accounts for about 7% of all newspaper page views.
  Research is also showing strong revenue potential from tablet owners from both advertising and  subscriptions.  The two studies continue to show tablet owners who read newspapers and magazines on their devices are a valuable audience for advertising - skewing male, younger, with higher incomes.  Studies are also finding tablet advertising embedded in the newspaper or magazine content is read or noticed by tablet users, and that when those tablet ads are read or noticed, there's a high degree of reader engagement with the ad.

Source -  Mobile Rising: Newspapers, Magazine Readership, Ad Engagement Up,  MediaDailyNews

Media CEOs embrace digital future

A new report suggests media CEOs are optimistic about the digital future, and think that digital provides them an opportunity to significantly grow revenues and profits in the near term.  The Ernst & Young study is based on interview with 34 CEOs from a range of global media and entertainment companies.  The companies span many geographic areas and media and entertainment product markets, with combined revenues above $300 billion.

  Half of the CEOs they talked to predicted that digital would drive up revenue growth and profit margins by double digits within the next three years.  But what's more interesting is which digital technologies and services they felt would drive that growth. 
  When asked what would be the biggest driver in terms of increasing content consumption over the near term, the CEOs unanimously named mobile devices.  In contrast, 53% cited improved broadband and mobile infrastructure, 41% cited social media and other emerging networks, and 24% indicated that increases in online content availability would be a primary factor increasing online content consumption.  Looking a bit deeper, the CEOs talked about mobile as creating expansive new markets and demand.

“The integration of media content, devices and networks creates self-sustaining digital ecosystems. The more users interact with content, the easier it is to learn about their habits and for content, advertising, and services within these ecosystems to evolve and grow,” said Howard Bass, Senior Partner, Global Media & Entertainment Advisory Services, Ernst & Young LLP.

  Mobile also led the list of digital technologies that would have the biggest overall impact on the Media & Entertainment industry - 79% of the CEOs said tablets would have a significant impact, and 62% thought smartphones would.  Cloud technology was cited by 59%, Apps (as means of providing content and services) was identified by 56%, and 53% thought mobile broadband would have a big impact.  Interesting, social media was the least mentioned of the technologies included in the survey, with 44% of the CEOs thinking that social media would have a big impact on the media and entertainment industry.
  It wasn't that the CEOs didn't see the value of social media to the industry - it was more how they thought social media would be useful and potentially having an impact.  The CEOs saw social media having an important role in terms of audience relations - 84% said social media's value and importance came with it's ability to connect with customers; 69% saw value in building audiences; and 63% thought social media would be helpful in building brands.  Only half thought that social media might become an important distribution channel or revenue source.
  It's important to note that the CEO's also recognized the challenges of the digital future for their firms.  As might be expected, uncertainty about the future was at the core of many of their concerns - global economic uncertainty was the top concern given.  In addition, CEOs felt that concerns about capturing the fair value of digital content was a critical concern.  Some also identified structural and regulatory uncertainty, uncertainty about how marketing budgets would be allocated across media and platforms, and the viability of disintermediation efforts (i.e., could they eliminate the middleman and link content producers and consumers directly).
  Most of the CEOs (56%) planned to focus short term efforts on pushing and expanding digital and online distribution efforts - putting themselves in a position to be able to take advantage of whatever specific opportunities emerge from the fog of digital market evolution.  Another strategy might be to become more involved with social media and interactive media - 59% of the CEOs thought that companies in those areas were the best position to thrive in the future.  I'm a little surprised that only 44% of the CEOs said that creatively differentiating content would be a priority.  Repurposing existing content can create added value, and is a cheaper way to enter new markets than creating all-new content.
But I guess CEOs aren't omniscient.

Source - CEOs See Digital As The Driver,  Research Brief blog
News release on the study (full reports can be requested)

A Gaggle of Social TV / Second Screen Reports

The last couple of weeks have seen a number of reports coming out on multiplatform and multidevice diffusion and use.  It's busy time here, so I'm going to combine and highlight -

A study from consumer research group GfK MRI found that 63% of tablet owners report watching TV while they use their tablets in the previous week. And they did so a lot - 41% of total TV viewing time was spent with tablet in hand. The focus on tablet use behaviors is interesting, because most of the studies to date focus on what people are doing while watching TV.
  So what were they doing online while watching TV time?  34% were posting on social media; 25% visited websites or used apps tied to the show they were watching (a show's site or app, the network's site, or a fan site); 21% were looking up information about the show; 16% watched video clips about the program; 11% were voting in a show's content or event; and 9% were actively participating in a live chatroom.  As for the TV advertising, the study found that 28% looked up more information about a product advertised on the program on their tablets - and more importantly, 12% reported that they later purchased that product.
  As for which screen was primary. 36% reported being true multitaskers, with equal focus on TV screen and tablet.  Another 36% indicated that their primary focus was on the tablet, and only 28% said their primary focus was on the TV's bog screen.
  Source -  Multiscren TV-Tablet Viewing Soars,  MediaDailyNews

Research from Forrester suggest that people are watching video in new ways. with multitasking (watching TV while also doing something else) is quickly becoming the new norm.  Forrester found that 74% of US viewers regularly multitask, a significant jump from last year's 58%.  Their report uses this result and the boom in digital video devices and services to argue that traditional audience rating measures are becoming outmoded and incomplete.  Digital captures so much more information about its users, while Nielsen and other ratings services are struggling to develop ways to count the viewing that occurs through the myriad potential second screens.

Forrester says GRPs no longer provide complete coverage for marketers because they only measure age and gender in a world of digital detail, are a backward-looking metric, and face digital video platforms that can already target audiences beyond the basic.

    Source -  Study: In Growing Digital Media World, GRPs Still Important,  MediaDailyNews 

Ericsson ConsumerLab's latest annual TV and Video study concluded that Social TV is rapidly becoming a mainstream, mass-market phenomenon.  The study looks at TV and video trends world-wide, based on thousands of interviews and data from online activities collected from consumers in 14 countries.  The found that 62% of their sample combine social media activities with TV viewing on a weekly basis; up from 44% last year.  Women were slightly more likely to do this than men (66% vs. 58%), and a quarter (25%) of respondents reported engaging in more narrowly defined Social TV activities - using social media to share their thoughts about the program they were watching at the time.
  Other relevant report highlights - two-thirds report using laptops or mobile devices for TV viewing; 60% reported using on-demand services to get programs they wanted to watch each week; and over half the sample want the ability to choose their own video content. The desire to control both the selection of content and the viewing experience (time, location, device, and quality) is reflected in the video characteristics consumers were most willing to pay for - improved technical quality (HD or higher), the ability to control the viewing experience (time-shifting, on-demand), access to recent movies. Interest in paying more for personalized content jumped from about 22% to nearly 30% in the last year.  Despite their interest, consumers reported that a variety of technical and regulatory barriers had limited their TV watching outside the home.
  An Ericsson spokesman concluded,

”As the number of screens and services increase, people are eagerly looking for an easy-to-use, aggregated service that can bring everything together. It should allow consumers to mix on-demand and linear TV including live content, facilitate content discovery, leverage the value of social TV and provide seamless access across devices.”

  Sources -  Social TV becoming a mass-market phenomenon, says Ericsson,  InformationWeek
TV and Video: An analysis of evolving consumer habits, 2012,  Ericsson ConsumerLab report.


Networked Insights has developed an interesting Network Executive's Social TV Survival Guide that identifies the major lifecycle segments of television, and discusses how social media and social TV can help the producers and programmers.

At the very least, they suggest, take advantage of the fact that using social media and social TV tie-ins provides real-time access to a wide array of audience responses, preferences, and behaviors - rather than traditional data collection methods that are highly focused, and can take weeks or months for meaningful results to trickle in.

Industry observer Simon Dumenco of Advertising Age describes social TV this way: “Millions of people are now partaking of the ‘dual-screen’ experience -- watching TV while using a smartphone (or tablet) to share their thoughts about what they’re viewing and to ’check in’ to shows. The result: a massive and rapidly expanding real-time focus group (and promotional force).

   Source -  How social media affects the TV lifecycle,  Lost Remote 



Social TV interactions  have exploded in the last year, according to a white paper by media research firm Trendrr.  They found that that last June set new records for social TV activity, with more than 81 million social interactions generated from 5500 telecasts that they tracked.  That was a 681% increase from June 2011, and a 15% increase from the previous month.  Interestingly, recent growth was fed by social activity tied to cable programs (up 45% from May), while social interactions tied to broadcast network programs fell 18%.  In June, more than two-thirds of social TV activity was related to cable programs.  I'll note that June's not a big month for new broadcast programs or episodes, which are much more likely to generate social interaction than repeats. Broadcasting's share of social TV activity should rebound this fall with the start of the new seasons.
    Source - Social TV interactions skyrocketed 171% this year, Lost Remote

A study from the Online Publishers Association shows tablet adoption and use continues to grow.  The study found 31% of respondents had tablets, and three-quarters of tablet owners reported using them daily.  Tablet use averaged almost 14 hours a week, predominantly in the evening.  Some 85% of their sample of mobile device owners (tablets and smartphones) reported using their devices to multitask while watching TV - averaging 1.6 hours a day (about a third of all TV viewing).  Looking deeper, the study identified a group of "heavy" TV/ Second Screen users, who averaged 3.1 hours of multitasking daily.  Roughly a third of mobile device users were included in this group.  Other interesting TV results - a quarter of tablet owners had bought a movie to watch on their table, and 18% had purchased full-length TV programs.
    Sources  -  Tablet Adoption Explodes, study reveals key usage patterns,  Lost Remote
     A Portrait of Today's Tablet User Wave II, an Online Publishers Association report.

New niches and targets? New research on online & mobile

There have been several interesting reports on how various segments of the audience are using, or are impacted by, aspects of the evolving media world.

  Mentioned in a previous post was the interesting finding that college students felt that advertising is still the most influential medium for ads, although.  New research reported by the Association of National Advertisers suggests that company and product websites are the best way to reach multicultural audiences.  And consulting firm Altman Vilandria & Co.  is reporting that use of tablets for TV and movie viewing is growing most quickly among older viewers. The use of tablets for video viewing grew, in the last year, from 11% to 19% among those 55 or older, and from 15% to 24% for those in the 45 to 54 age group.

“The implications for marketers and the future of advertising are profound: video advertising on tablets can be more timely (inserted at time of viewing), more targeted, and more interactive than has yet been possible with TV advertising,” said Jonathan Hurd, author of the (Altman Vilandria & Co.) study.

There's other interesting research coming out about "second-screen" viewing (watching TV & video on a device other than a TV set). Research from TDG suggests that second-screen viewing doesn't detract much from regular TV viewing - they found that in key demographics there was little impact on regular TV viewing (only a "negligible" proportion of those 50 or older reported a decline in normal TV viewing, while for the key 18-49 demographic, only 15% reported a decline in regular TV viewing. In fact, for that demographic, 39% of those watching video and TV on tablets said that their tablet viewing led them to increase their regular TV viewing. The idea that tablet or mobile TV viewing supplements traditional TV viewing rather than acting as a substitute is also supported by the recent Nielsen Cross-Platform Media Report (see this post).
  And then there's the MediaMind study results that suggest that online video ads are much more effective (in generating click-throughs) than online banner ads or rich media ads.

What all of these results suggest is that "second-screen" TV viewing through online and mobile devices may be more efficient and effective outlets for marketers and advertisers who are interested in targeting particular niche audiences. As these outlets continue to develop, they should be able to attract advertising and marketing dollars - especially once reasonable audience measurement metrics emerge.

Sources - Tablet Viewing Rising In Popularity For Older Viewers, Not Hurting TV Viewing, VidBlog
Digital Marketers Reach Multicultural Demos Best On Web Sites, OnlineMediaDaily