Mobile to power online viewing surge

Online video consumption is set to rocket over the next 18 months as viewers increasingly use mobile devices to watch content on the go, according to research revealed today.

The average amount of time people spend watching programmes online each day will increase by more than 23% in 2015 and by a further 19.8% in 2016, according to the Online Video Forecasts report from analyst ZenithOptimedia and its branded content division Newcast.

Watching shows on devices such as smartphones and tablets is expected to grow by nearly 44% in 2015 and 35% in 2016, while video consumption on non-mobile devices will also increase by 9.5% in 2015 and 6.5% in 2016.

The growth of mobile is expected to make it the main platform for viewing online content by 2016. In 2012, mobile accounted for 22.9% of time spent watching online video worldwide, which is expected to rise to nearly 53% next year and 58.1% in 2017.

The research, based on 40 key territories around the world including the US, UK and Germany, also predicted that global linear TV audiences will start declining from next year by 1.9%, led by a fall in China.

US and UK linear viewer audiences have been falling since 2014, with ITV the latest British broadcaster citing lower linear reach in its annual results earlier this week.

The number of regular online video viewers, however, is increasing at double-digit rates in 12 of the markets included in this report, including in China (27.2%), France (50.0%), Germany (27.5%) and the US (12.3%).

Mark Waugh, global MD of Newcast, said the growth had been driven by the “near limitless array of engrossing content.”