Study: 86% of people use mobile devices while watching TV
By Chris Hogg
According to a study published by Yahoo’s advertising division, TV fans are very active on the mobile front. The report indicates nearly 90 percent of boob tube watchers are using a mobile device at the same time.
It began as a passive past-time meant to escape from the everyday, but television today is turning into an engaging experience thanks to that smartphone in your pocket. Be it Twitter, Facebook, email or instant messaging, TV watchers are doing more than watching what’s on screen.
According to stats released by Yahoo/Nielsen, 86 percent of mobile Web users (and 92 percent of people aged 13 to 24) are using a mobile device while watching TV and one quarter of them are looking at related content to what they’re watching on screen. For this study, Yahoo interviewed 8,384 Americans aged 13 to 64. Of those, 5,313 were mobile Internet users.
The study (PDF) says TV watchers use their mobile to simultaneously text family and friends (56 percent); visit social networking sites (40 percent); browse content unrelated to the program on screen (37 percent); email friends and family (33 percent); use mobile apps (33 percent); browse for content related to the show on screen (24 percent); search for info based on a commercial that aired (23 percent); and instant message with friends or family (12 percent).
“This data mirrors Yahoo research on PC users, as we see that mobile users often scan content unrelated to TV programming, participate on social networks and send email,” the study reports. “Mobile allows ample opportunity for brands to continue the conversation after the TV ad is flighted.”
In addition to post-program interaction, the real-time Web and mobile apps are changing how people consume content on television. Evidence can be found with shows like Glee or Obama’s State of the Union address where people took to social networks like Twitter to discuss what they were seeing in real-time.
Twitter CEO, Dick Costolo, recently spoke about Glee’s use of social media with Kara Swisher, showing how mobile devices have changed the TV-watching experience.
“The characters on Glee actually tweet and they tweet during the show,” Costolo said. “When Glee starts, the moment it airs for the first time on the East Coast, the tweets per second for Glee shoot up. They stay up there at a super high level at hundreds of [times] what they are before the show comes on until the moment the show ends and then they drop. [...] People feel like they have to watch the show while it’s going on because the community is tweeting about the show and the characters are tweeting as the show’s happening so [they have to] watch it in real time.”
ReadWriteWeb notes the Glee phenomonenon has caused viewers to tune into the show in real-time rather than time-shifting or recording it on DVR.
For marketers who want to connect with today’s modern TV-watcher, Yahoo says mobile usage presents “a compelling opportunity for content providers and advertisers alike to complement the viewing experience on the mobile platform.”
Newspapers surpass broadcasters in total minutes of videos streamed
According to a report from video-hosting platform Brightcove, newspapers have pulled ahead of broadcasters in total minutes of videos streamed for the first time in Q3 this year.
“This is an interesting development, and suggests that newspapers are rapidly adopting and producing video content for what was once a print business,” the report (PDF) says. “This data also bears out the distinct differences in the content between the two verticals: broadcasters have fewer but longer titles, while newspapers are producing many more, but shorter titles on a more regular basis.”
Brightcove says newspapers streamed 313 million minutes compared to 290 million for broadcasters. Newspapers also saw more titles uploaded and spikes in video production coincided with major events such as U.S. mid-term elections and the World Cup. The report says newspaper uploaded 482,000 titles in the Q3, an increase of 51 percent compared to the previous quarter and 100 percent growth compared to the same quarter last year.
Video uploads from the online media category passed broadcast uploads for the first time in Q3, a growth of 188 percent compared to this time last year for online media.
When it comes to time spent watching video, the report says audience engagement stayed relatively the same over Q1, Q2 and Q3. Some verticals, however, saw a decrease in minutes watched. As the study notes: “Completion rates went up in some of the same verticals, suggesting that while the content may be shorter, engagement via completion rates may be higher.”
Newspapers and brand marketers were the only two verticals who did not see a slight drop in average minutes viewed per stream. Broadcasters were much higher than other verticals for average minutes watched per stream, a fact Brightcove attributes to long-form content.
When it comes to watching a video from start to finish, the report says completion rates were relatively constant but spikes were seen from online media properties, broadcasters and brand marketers.
Video discovery and referrals
Facebook overtook Yahoo for video referral traffic in Q3 and the company is now second only to Google. Facebook accounts for 9.6 percent of all referred video to media companies.
Futhermore, visitors who come through Twitter spend more time watching video. Brands saw Twitter users watch 1:47 minutes of video, broadcasters saw 1:57 minutes of video plays from Twitter users, and online media properties saw Twitter users watch 1:40 minutes of video content.
“Google accounted for significantly higher engagement for newspapers at 1:57 minutes, compared to the category average of 1:27 minutes,” the report notes. “This suggests that viewers look to the search engine as a source for the most relevan breaking and timely content.”
The report also says, “Facebook was the most engaging referral source for entertainment categories, including broadcasters (1:57 minutes) and magazines (1:34 minutes). This can be explained that entertainment is a more commonly shared and more engaging content type among friends connecting on the social network.”
Video consumption breakdown by device
In Q3, Brightcove looked at minutes of video watched and how it changed across various devices. The company says game consoles (such as Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation) came out on top with an average of 2:45 minutes watched per view. Online consumption came in at 2:27 minutes per view.
“This is not surprising given that gaming consoles are currently the most common playback device connected to TVs and most closely replicate a comfortable lean-back experience,” the report says. “We anticipate this disparity to increase as more customers make content available to viewers through connected TV apps and gaming consoles.”
More information and statistics are available here (PDF).