One of the most interesting aspects of streaming TV in 2018 is the diversity of devices viewers can use to stream video, Conviva says. The company classifies devices into three groups: mobile (smartphone and tablet), desktop computers (PCs) and TVs (internet-connected TV devices that allow streaming). Overall, all groups experienced growth except PCs, which saw a decline in plays but not in viewing hours.
In terms of share of total plays, mobile devices lead the way with 49% of all plays, followed by TVs and PCs at 27% and 24% respectively. The shift away from PCs and to mobile is unmistakable when comparing this data to the second quarter of 2017, when mobile had a 39% share of plays while PCs had a 38% share. Among connected TV platforms, Roku continues to emerge as a leader with nearly 8% of all plays, while Sony PlayStation and Google Chromecast experienced the fastest year-on-year growth, both over 150%.
Breaking down the same classification by viewing hours, mobile only accounted for 29%, while TVs and PCs accounted for 51% and 20% respectively. This highlights how consumers continue to prefer a larger screen to consume long-form episodic content and movies. When considering viewing hours instead of plays, the shift away from PCs is less drastic.
The share of viewing hours on PCs dropped 6% from the second quarter of 2017, down to 20%, and 14% in terms of plays. Most of the shift in viewing hours seems to have transitioned to connected TVs, which gained 4% over the same time period.
That comes in spite of declines in share from Samsung and other Smart TV platforms, which lost share to devices like Apple TV, Roku and PlayStation. In fact, Roku devices accounted for 22% of viewing hours in the second quarter of 2018, leading all connected TV devices, with Amazon’s Fire TV experiencing the largest growth at 140%.
Overall, viewers continue to prefer mobile devices for consuming short-form content and connected TVs for consuming long-form programming. PCs are losing share to mobile devices, while among connected TV platforms, Samsung and other TV platforms are losing ground to Roku, Google Chromecast, Sony PlayStation and Amazon Fire TV.
You can download the report in full here.
