Bytemobile publishes a Mobile Analytics Report, and its latest one this month reveals some information that should not come as too much of a surprise. Mobile TV watching is spiking continuously upwards. But some things have changed in the past year, and carriers and networks need to be prepared for the coming years.
While in the past 240p was pretty much the norm for most mobile TV watching, the trend is now squarely in the 360p and 480p range. And this is only the medium average; higher resolution and HD are certainly options now on current devices. Because the resolution is higher, carriers are transmitting double and triple the data they moved just a year or two ago.
Several factors tie into this, and one of the most specific is screen size. Considering how mobile phone screens are getting larger, it only makes sense that consumers want to see higher quality content. Something that looked great on a small screen a few years ago now may look grainy and stilted on a larger device.
The report states that 17 percent of laptop users consume some video content daily, while on the iPhone it’s 11 percent and Android 7 percent. When you stop to consider the multiple millions of phones out in the wild, this adds up to a lot of content. Video on phones in particular has also gotten easier to use. There are so many apps that almost any user now has the ability to quickly pull up a video clip.
The report goes on to state that an average viewing session for most mobile users is over a minute during peak and daytime hours. After hours and off peak, that amount doubles, heading over two minutes per clip viewing. How much do mobile viewers, on average, consume in a single sitting? Bytemobile says at least 10 minutes in a single session. So if you crunch the numbers, most viewers are watching 10 to 20 minutes of video in a single session. This is quite a substantial amount and almost in line with a half-hour television program.
Networks are struggling to keep up. Many have come up with new data throttling plans, unfortunately perhaps signaling the passing of all-you-can-consume flat-rate options. Part of the strategy is faster networks, because a two-minute clip can be moved in seconds as opposed to a minute or two. The trend will only continue to rise, as more and more mobile tablets are sold, and consumers demand higher quality. The report shows that higher resolution video is most definitely on the rise, with no signs of slowing down.