Streaming Spike Persisting, Report Says
Temporary spikes in streaming activity due to lockdowns early in the COVID-19 pandemic “have turned out to be not so temporary,” said a Q2 Conviva report released last week. A tipping point spurred by the pandemic “shows no signs of…
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reversal,” with Q2 streaming rising 13% over the “pandemic heights” of Q2 2020, it said. Most of Q2’s gains came from outside North America, where streaming had a 7% decline in April from April 2020. North America returned to double-digit growth in June at 14% year on year. There was a 4% increase in ad impressions quarter over quarter, said the report. On YouTube, mobile phones were 63% of views but just 52% of watch time, as consumers tallied nearly twice as many minutes per view when watching YouTube on a console or connected TV than they did on mobile or tablet in Q2 2021, the report said. Smart TV viewing was up 46% in the quarter and up 5% on connected TV devices, but streaming on game consoles fell 14%. Viewing on smaller screens grew across the board: 30% on smartphones, 15% on desktop PCs and 9% on tablets. Roku, maintaining 31% of big-screen viewing time, lost some share as smart TV-only devices from Samsung, LG and Vizio increased share.