The Who, When, and Where of Online Video Consumption — At Home, Online and On Hand

Data Sheds Light on “Prime Time” Relevance & Viewing Habits Across Devices

Matt Lopez
Jul 26, 2017 · 5 min read

Once the king of the jungle, traditional television has been humbled. It’s no longer the dominant screen, because it’s no longer the only screen. Consumers now have the option of utilizing their smartphones, tablets, and PCs all for the sake of entertainment, which not only makes traditional television a bit limited, but also paints a whole new picture when it comes to viewing habits.

A recent report sponsored by Conviva and authored by Colin Dixon, founder and Chief Analyst at nScreenMedia, hopes to frame this new picture by analyzing the role devices, content, location, and quality are taking in shaping this era’s new viewing habits.

First the obvious — television no longer dominates the screen.

It’s true, television no longer dominates the screen. Between Q1 2015 and Q1 2016, smartphone owners increased screen time with their device by 44%, to almost 3 and half hours a day. Of course, due to a smartphone’s multi-functional use, consumers aren’t just viewing video on their device. In fact, according to the report, 23% of time on the phone is spent with social media, 7% is spent streaming audio, while video makes up for just 4% of time spent on the phone.

When it comes to reach however, good ol’ fashion TV is still the dominant force. While 45% of the population is now counted as smartphone video users (up by 25% in just one year), television reaches 88% of the population. Connected TV comes in third with 44% audience reach and PC video come in last with an audience reach of just 32%.

Which connected device is preferred for TV-Show-Length Video?

Looking at video plays for this type of content across the four main screens (connected TV, smartphones, tablets, & PC), it’s clear the PC still rules. On average, it attracts 40% more plays per hour than the connected TV, 60% more than the tablet, and 80% more than the smartphone, according to the report. However, during 8 and 11 PM the connected TV and PC attract around the same number of video plays. The tablet and smartphone also see the number of video plays double from the average in the 9 o’clock hour.

Though the PC attracts more plays, when it comes to engagement TV still reigns as king. Average playtime minutes (length of a viewing session) for the connected TV are 40% more than the tablet, and double that for the PC and smartphone.

Is prime time still a thing?

One habit that the report looks at is watching video between the hours of 8 and 11PM, a time period that the television industry has established as prime time; reserved for only the best content. Do people still tune into watch shows during prime time even though most digital content isn’t governed by linear channel schedules? Well, it depends on the device, but the short answer is yes.

According to the report, between the hours of 8 and 11PM, average viewing sessions increase by 16% over the average hour viewing time for connected TV and PC, and by 10% for the tablet. However, the smartphone experienced no increase in viewing session length. In the peak viewing hour, between 8 and 9PM, the increase over the average hour viewing was even more pronounced: 20% for the connected TV and PC, 10% for the tablet, with the smartphone still showing no increase at all. The data illustrates that prime time remains important, particularly for those reliant on advertising.

What about binge viewing?

When it comes to binge watching shows, the data suggests that the connected TV is the main platform consumers use for their sessions. One interesting thing to note is that completion rates, the percentage of people who watch a show to the end, do not vary between the average viewing hour and prime time. Again, the connected TV delivers the highest completion rates (80%), the tablet is second best (64%), and the PC and smartphone are tied (55%).

In-home VS out-of-home viewing

One of the more surprising conclusions from the report is that despite the common belief that out-of-home viewing is dominated solely by short-form video, and in-home viewing by long form, it’s actually the opposite (from the perspective of connected device viewing). The data shows that in-home viewing through connected devices is dominated by short-form content. 53.5% of video starts in the home are for short content, 27% for long, and 19.5% for live. Out-of-home viewing is a bit more balanced between short, long, and live video; short-form mobile video starts is 39%, while long form drives 36% of starts and a quarter of video starts go to live content.

According to the report, 79% of all out-of-home video requests came from smartphones and tablets. 55% of mobile video starts came from iPhones and iPads, while Android drove a quarter of mobile video start requests.


The data used in this research study was pulled from nearly 2 billion streaming sessions in North America from April 2015 to April 2016. The streaming sessions were analyzed from connected TVs, gaming consoles, smartphones, tablets and other streaming devices.

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