The latest Conviva quarterly State of Streaming report for the fourth quarter of 2019 has shown clearly just how consumers are motivated by new streaming services like Disney+ and Apple TV+ and the convenience of on-demand.
Data for the report was primarily collected from Conviva’s proprietary sensor technology currently embedded in three billion streaming video applications, measuring in excess of a 500 million unique viewers watching 150 billion streams per year with 1.5 trillion real-time transactions per day across more than 180 countries.
Streaming was found to be growing rapidly around the world. It showed that that two-thirds of global streaming viewing is now on demand while streaming viewing grew 58% year over year. Streaming viewing was up 63% in the Americas year over year and 65% in Europe. Streaming growth in Asia is slower, showing just a 10% increase year over year. Conviva noted that the connected TV market in Asia only accounts for 2% in viewing hours, but netted 243% growth year over year, as compared with growth on mobile or PC devices in Asia, which inched up just 11% and 6% respectively.
Just 36.5% of streaming ad attempts failed to play as intended in Q4 2019, down from 39.6% in the previous quarter. The Americas experienced the lowest rate of video start failures at 0.51%, the lowest rate of buffering at .31% and the best bitrate (picture quality) at 5.94 Mbps. Asia claimed the world’s fastest video start time at 2.58 seconds while Europe lags behind in many quality categories, including the highest percentage of video start failures at 1.63%.
Significantly, the study showed that nearly a quarter, 24%, of all streaming time was spent on a mobile device, and Google’s Android phones represented the leading platform with a 60% share of the mobile devices used. Google was followed by two Apple products—the iPhone at 26% and iPad at 14% share. This represents a 47% increase year over year for Android phones and an 84% increase for the iPhone.
As regards ads, Conviva analysed more than 11 billion ad attempts in Q4 2019 and found that while streaming ads are slowly improving in quality, the length of time a viewer must wait for the ad to start nearly doubled, going from 1.14 to 2.27 seconds over the span of a single quarter. As a result, warned Conviva, viewers are more likely than ever to exit an ad, with exits before an ad starts surging 49%.
Ad buffering also remained an issue with a 48% increase quarter-on-quarter. Ad start failures also improved, going from 35.7% in Q3 to 30.8% in Q4. Advertisers were also found to be shortening their ads, with average time down from 38 seconds in Q3 to 26.6 seconds in Q4.
Roku’s market share remained steady in Q4 2019 with 43% of all connected TV viewing time and also showed markedly improved performance in the past year, providing viewers with a more consistent and high-quality viewing experience. The survey showed that in the quarter it had Reduced video start failures by 56% and reduced buffering by 34%.
“From recent entrants like Disney+ to soon-to-be-launched services like NBC’s Peacock and HBO Max, we’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of streaming’s impact not only on consumer behaviour, but also on the multi-billion dollar advertising and entertainment industries,” said Bill Demas, CEO, Conviva commenting on the quarterly State of Streaming report. “As with any disruptive technology, growing pains are inevitable. The companies that win the streaming wars will be those able to offer viewers a fast, clear, reliable experience regardless of where in the world they live, or what device they use.”
Streaming was found to be growing rapidly around the world. It showed that that two-thirds of global streaming viewing is now on demand while streaming viewing grew 58% year over year. Streaming viewing was up 63% in the Americas year over year and 65% in Europe. Streaming growth in Asia is slower, showing just a 10% increase year over year. Conviva noted that the connected TV market in Asia only accounts for 2% in viewing hours, but netted 243% growth year over year, as compared with growth on mobile or PC devices in Asia, which inched up just 11% and 6% respectively.
Just 36.5% of streaming ad attempts failed to play as intended in Q4 2019, down from 39.6% in the previous quarter. The Americas experienced the lowest rate of video start failures at 0.51%, the lowest rate of buffering at .31% and the best bitrate (picture quality) at 5.94 Mbps. Asia claimed the world’s fastest video start time at 2.58 seconds while Europe lags behind in many quality categories, including the highest percentage of video start failures at 1.63%.
Significantly, the study showed that nearly a quarter, 24%, of all streaming time was spent on a mobile device, and Google’s Android phones represented the leading platform with a 60% share of the mobile devices used. Google was followed by two Apple products—the iPhone at 26% and iPad at 14% share. This represents a 47% increase year over year for Android phones and an 84% increase for the iPhone.
As regards ads, Conviva analysed more than 11 billion ad attempts in Q4 2019 and found that while streaming ads are slowly improving in quality, the length of time a viewer must wait for the ad to start nearly doubled, going from 1.14 to 2.27 seconds over the span of a single quarter. As a result, warned Conviva, viewers are more likely than ever to exit an ad, with exits before an ad starts surging 49%.
Ad buffering also remained an issue with a 48% increase quarter-on-quarter. Ad start failures also improved, going from 35.7% in Q3 to 30.8% in Q4. Advertisers were also found to be shortening their ads, with average time down from 38 seconds in Q3 to 26.6 seconds in Q4.
Roku’s market share remained steady in Q4 2019 with 43% of all connected TV viewing time and also showed markedly improved performance in the past year, providing viewers with a more consistent and high-quality viewing experience. The survey showed that in the quarter it had Reduced video start failures by 56% and reduced buffering by 34%.
“From recent entrants like Disney+ to soon-to-be-launched services like NBC’s Peacock and HBO Max, we’ve barely begun to scratch the surface of streaming’s impact not only on consumer behaviour, but also on the multi-billion dollar advertising and entertainment industries,” said Bill Demas, CEO, Conviva commenting on the quarterly State of Streaming report. “As with any disruptive technology, growing pains are inevitable. The companies that win the streaming wars will be those able to offer viewers a fast, clear, reliable experience regardless of where in the world they live, or what device they use.”
