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40% Watch an Hour or More Smartphone Video Each Week: Report

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How popular is smartphone video? According to Mobile Video: Exposed, a report issued today by nonprofit industry group the Streaming Video Alliance (SVA), over 40 percent of consumers in the U.S. watch at least one hour per week, 25 percent watch two hours or more, and 7.5 percent watch over 5 hours.

The report answers questions about where mobile video is taking off. People most often watch at home, showing that mobile video isn't just for times when people are out of the house. Those surveyed ranked home as their main viewing location, followed by in a car as a passenger, on public transportation, and in a car as the driver (when parked, one hopes). Data usage is likely one reason the home is the dominant location. The SVA finds people prefer to stream mobile video over Wi-Fi: 42.5 percent always watch on Wi-Fi when it's available but will use cellular when it isn't, while 34.3 percent only watch on Wi-Fi.

While over-the-top services have come on strong in 2016, YouTube is still the top destination for mobile video. For those surveyed, 77.4 percent say YouTube is a top mobile video destination, 53.2 percent look to social media sites, and only 27.8 percent often stream premium content. The top frustrations for mobile video viewers are data usage, buffering, and poor video quality, in that order.

Young adults are driving the trend to mobile video, so the report includes a section on millennials. While older demos typically stream mobile video through websites, millennials most often stream through apps.

"Millennials are 30 percent more likely to watch video on their phones through an app," the report says. "This might reflect millennial sophistication with smartphone devices—they might be seeking specialized sources (i.e., YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook) for the content they want to watch based on affiliation with brands (i.e., they know when a brand has an app available)."

The SVA surveyed 500 people in the United States to get its results, most between the ages of 18 and 70. View the full report for free (no registration required).

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