Ooyala Research Shows Europe Leads In Mobile Sports Viewing Across the Globe 06 December 2016
The Q3 Global Video Index analyzes the risk of piracy for 4K and live-sports content; Mid- to long-form video content is king regardless of device
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- (December 6, 2016) -- Ooyala, a Telstra subsidiary and a leading global innovator in premium video publishing, production workflow, analytics and monetization, today released its Q3 2016 Global Video Index highlighting business insights based on the online viewing trends of 220 million people around the world. The report shows that viewers in Europe, particularly Great Britain, watch more online sports content via mobile than those in the rest of the world. It also analyzes the year-over-year fan engagement with video for a European football club, particularly the days after the home team wins or loses. The insights gives sports teams, rights holders and broadcasters a stronger understanding of how to maximize fan engagement and revenue with video the days before, during and after matches.
The report also highlights that mobile viewing now represents over half (52 percent) of all video views, and that consumers are watching more mid- to long-form content on any device, regardless of screen size. The report provides advertising trends across broadcasters and publishers, and, with additional data from Irdeto, how companies can combat piracy of 4K and live-sports content.
Spotlight On Sports Viewing In Europe
The report provides an overview of mobile sports viewing trends in Europe as compared to the United States and the rest of the world. A year ago, Ireland was the only market that saw the share of sports video views on mobile devices pass 50 percent. Today, 50 percent or more is the norm, globally. Great Britain, specifically, now sees 59 percent of sports video plays on mobile devices. As of Q3, Great Britain now outpaces the average of mobile sports viewing in all of Europe, 54 percent, the average in the United States, 52 percent, and the global average, 49 percent.
The new report shows fan engagement with a popular European football club across a 45-day period year over year. The average daily baseline of video plays increased nearly 70 percent in 2016, with the maximum number of plays more than doubling.
This growth is more notable after the home team wins a match. After a win, the club averages nearly 100 percent more video plays today than it did last year. More so, after a win against an historic rival, video plays jump more than 230 percent. This shows sports providers have a tremendous opportunity to publish more content after wins to maximize fan engagement and revenue as fans flock to video for game highlights and player interviews.
Mobile is the new normal
More than 52 percent of all video views were on mobile devices this quarter. This is the second consecutive quarter that mobile made up more than half of all online viewing. Since Q3 2013, mobile video views have increased more than 233 percent, outpacing the growing penetration rate of mobile devices globally as viewers spend more time watching video on the small screen.
Any device for mid- to long-form content
Q3 2016 marks the first quarter to show growth across all screens for mid- to long-form video consumption, content over five minutes in length. Consumers are increasingly more comfortable watching longer content, even if on smaller screens. Smartphone users now spend 48 percent of their time on mid- to long-form content, up more than 23 percent from last year, while viewers on computers spend 57 percent, a 43 percent year-over-year increase. Connected TV users consume the most, watching mid- to long-form content 97 percent of the time, a 73 percent increase since 2015.
Curbing Piracy for 4K and Live Sports Content
The report includes research from digital platform security provider, Irdeto, and analyst firm SNL Kagan. Their report surveyed 500 video service providers about how they intend to combat piracy of 4K and live sports content. According to Irdeto, 4K and live sports content will be primary piracy targets as the two categories of content are expected to increase costs by 10 to 30 percent for pay-TV and SVOD subscribers. Respondents said they are likely to use more than one method to repel pirates, including internet piracy analytics, piracy detective services, content protection, watermarking, content fingerprinting, investigation and enforcement services and DarkNet monitoring. Interestingly, in the Americas and Europe, piracy intelligence analytics are most popular, while in Asia-Pacific, providers and producers rely more on Internet piracy detection services.
The importance of data is crucial for broadcasters, publishers and media companies as digital TV makes audiences and, therefore, strategies global. Having analytics to understand how viewers across the globe are consuming video differently is paramount, said Ooyala Principal Analyst, Jim O'Neill. Mobile can't be ignored, either. Netflix just announcing offline viewing of its content on mobile devices underlines just how mobile weve become and how crucial mobile devices are for all content providers. This report reflects that as consumption of mid- to long-form premium content is increasing and gaining traction on all devices, particularly mobile.
Additional Q3 Video Index Highlights:
European Mobile Viewing:
Across all video plays, the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain lead Europe in mobile online viewing. These three countries surprisingly outpace the UK and Ireland, which led the region in all mobile viewing in Q3 2015, as well as the global average.
Broadcaster | Publisher Advertising Trends:
Pre-Roll Ad Impressions
Mobile devices delivered 44% of all broadcaster pre-roll ad impressions, on par with the share of impressions delivered on desktop and la
