The industry has been banging the mobile video gong for some time now, as study after study has show a massive increase in on-the-go viewership.
Ericsson’s new ConsumerLab TV & Media Report just adds more fuel to the fire with new stats, including the fact that average viewing times on mobile devices have grown by more than 200 hours per year – or about four hours per week – since 2012. Additionally, the study found the weekly share of time spent watching TV and video on mobile devices grew by 85 percent between 2010 and 2016, while time spent watching on fixed screens has dropped by 14 percent.
But what does this all mean for telcos?
First, Ericsson found 40 percent of global consumers are “very interested” in a mobile data plan that offers unlimited video streaming capabilities. Interest in uninhibited viewing is especially prominent with millennials, 46 percent of whom said they were most interested in unlimited streaming. This bodes well for the likes of T-Mobile and Sprint, which have both introduced unlimited data plans with optimized video streaming.
Additionally, Ericsson found in the United States 20 percent of mobile viewing was paid-for content from services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. AT&T is likely targeting this demographic as well as other cord cutters with its upcoming DirecTV Now mobile video offer of more than 100 channels for around $35 per month.
One final thought on this report stems from Ericsson’s mention that “Mobile video habits shift when barriers such as mobile data are removed.” Verizon – which has been trying to help its go90 mobile video platform gain steam and recently acquired video streaming service Vessel – might want to take this bit to heart as it strategizes for the future. The carrier has previously said unlimited data isn’t in the cards for Big Red, but it might want to rethink that looking forward.