Long-form content beginning to dominate online video

Viewing of long-form content now dominates video viewing on connected TVs and games consoles and is increasingly prevalent on tablets and mobile phones, according to online video specialist Ooyala’s latest Video Index.

Long-form content made up over half of total online video viewing time in the first quarter. The share taken by long-form content on connected TVs and games consoles grew from 57% in the fourth quarter to 88% by the end of March. About 40% of time spent watching video on tablets and smartphones was of long-form content in the first quarter, compared with 29% for mobiles and 36% for tablets in the fourth quarter of last year.

Viewing time is also increasing. Time per play on tablets grew by 58% during the quarter, while time per play on smartphones and PCs grew by 36% and 24% respectively.

The amount of video viewing on tablets jumped by 26% following Apple’s launch of the latest version of its iPad in March. iPads currently account for 95% of tablet video viewing, according to Ooyala.

While the new iPad boosted tablet viewing, Ooyala found that the overall share of time spent watching videos on smartphones grew by 41% in the last quarter, compared to growth of 32% for tablets.

Time watched per play on connected TVs and games consoles jumped by 87% in the quarter, boosting viewing on these devices even though the overall number of video plays remained flat.

Ooyala found strong variations in when and where different devices were used to view video. Tablet viewing rises on weekday mornings and then declines during working hours as PC viewing takes off. Tablet viewing recovers at the end of the day, with a third of tablet video plays taking place between 19:00-23:00, compared with only 17% of PC plays during that period.

Of viewers that watch video when they visit a specific site or domain, some 55% watch one video over the course of the day, while 17% watch two and 18% watch three to five. About 10% watch more than five videos in the course of the day.