M+E Daily

‘Mobile’ Video Not So Mobile

By Paul Sweeting

Amazon today released an Amazon Instant Video app for the iPhone and iPod touch adding potentially millions of new mobile devices to the platform. According to a new study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, however, a lot of those devices will be staying home.

The IAB study found that 63% of the video viewed on mobile phones occurs at home, not on the go. The most popular spot for watching mobile phone video at home is in the bedroom, which accounted for 43% of mobile video views, followed by the living room, which racked up 35%.

The most frequently viewed genres in mobile video are:

  • Music videos (45%)
  • Movie trailers (42%)
  • Tutorials/How-To’s (41%)
  • Funny short video clips (37%)

The IAB findings jibe with anecdotal data reported last year by Vevo, which found that if you’re watching one of its music videos on a mobile device, there’s a good chance you’re watching it in bed.

Why so much viewing at home on mobile devices? One explanation is that “mobile” video is still very dependent on WiFi access. The majority of mobile phones today are at least 3G-enabled, making them in principle suitable for streaming video over cellular networks. The fact that the overwhelming majority of viewing occurs at home, however, suggests consumers still find streaming over wireless to be a frustrating experience and are more likely to rely on home WiFi network attached to a wired broadband connection.

The IAB data did not include tablets, which are even more popular for watching video than are phones. Since almost 80% of tablets sold are WiFi-only, however, wireless streaming is not an option for most tablet owners so the data would not be comparable. The fact that so many 3G and 4G-capable phones still rely predominantly on WiFi for streaming suggests wireless carriers still have work to do in improving mobile video delivery.