There are two recent reports outlining the explosion of mobile content and the decline of the desktop.
Ooyala’s Q4 report is showing expected, but no less impressive, growth in mobile video. Non-desktop plays doubled in the fourth quarter. It is expected that video on tablets, mobile devices and connected TVs will continue to grow massively throughout 2012. Both iPhone and Android grew rapidly in terms of mobile video plays and hours watched. Windows Mobile is nowhere to be found.
Viewers are watching more videos online—they’re clicking “play” at a higher rate and watching longer per video play. The average conversion rate across all devices, for instance, increased from 35.1% in Q3 to 39.6% in Q4. Moreover, viewers in Q4 watched longer on all devices, as shown in the chart above.
The explosion of iOS in the marketplace appears to be having a direct impact on Windows-based web browsing. Following up on its earlier report on iOS browser market share, ad network Chitika released new results from a study analyzing the impact mobile computing has had on traditional web browsing. The bottom line is not great for Windows. From August 2011 to February 2012, Chitika says the Windows web browsing market share has declined by almost 10%.
The firm theorizes that the new research, which involves an observed nearly* 10% decline in Windows web browsing market share, is due to the increase in browsing from mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. That is to say, mobile browsing is eating into traditional PC-based browsing. Production problems in tailand and decreased PC production may also be contributory factors, but it does not change the results.
The full Ooyala report is available here: http://www.ooyala.com/online-video-index/Ooyala-Video-Index-2011-Q4.pdf. And the Chitika report is here: http://insights.chitika.com/2012/demise-of-the-pc-windows-web-browsing-market-share-declines-by-10-in-six-months/
© 2012 StoryGuide | Drew Keller
