Mobile drops from 50% in YouTube viewing time in the US and is losing ground to the rise of connected TV
The current year will end with a YouTube consumption shift in the US that for the first time in years will leave mobile below 50% in total minutes dedicated to the platform. This is what eMarketer estimates in its second quarterly report on digital video trends for 2022, in which it reflects the clear rise of connected devices as a playback environment for its content to 36.4%. Just two years ago the split was 53.1% and 30.5% respectively, with the desktop space accounting for the remaining 16.4%.
The steady increase in the number of connected TVs is crucial to understanding this redistribution, as platforms such as YouTube operate on them as an additional channel and are absorbing time traditionally devoted to online TV in consumers’ habits. In fact, eMarketer forecasts that by 2024, the percentage of minutes spent on YouTube through these and other connected devices will exceed 39%, up nine points in just five years, while mobile will fall below 48%, down more than five points.
The trend favours the continued movement of advertising budgets from traditional television.
Although the absolute drop is smaller, in relative numbers it is more significant on desktop, which shows that a significant part of consumption is shifting from laptops or desktops to TVs where it is more convenient to play content. In the next two years its share would fall to 12.9%, according to this projection.
This development is helping to consolidate the shift of advertising budgets from online to connected TV, a trend that has been picking up in recent times and which is particularly beneficial to YouTube as it seeks to compete with traditional broadcasters in terms of planning. But it is not the only player interested in boosting this consumption, as the streaming platforms that will soon be launching ad-supported versions also aim to capitalise on this progressive slide.
This is the case of HBO Max and Discovery+, and by the end of the year it will also be the case of Disney+ and Netflix. For the latter, the expansion of the number of connected devices is also very important, to the point that the slowdown in the purchase of these devices in recent times due to the deterioration of macroeconomic circumstances forms part of the context in which it explains its recent fall in subscribers.
