The COVID-19 pandemic has translated into skyrocketing stats on video views, notes Brightcove’s Global Video Index, which just released its Q1 numbers.
State orders on sheltering at home, as well as expanded work-from-home realities, changed America’s viewing habits. Also, users gained extra viewing time when their work commutes were eliminated.
Streaming is now a way of life — Netflix alone added more than 15.7 million subscribers in the first quarter.
On the media/entertainment front, the report found a 19 percent rise in media, entertainment and sports in North America and a 54 percent completion rate for all media in North America — the highest globally.
The need for information meant time spent watching news during Q1 increased 320 percent. It also drove a 47 percent increase in news video views — and a 58 percent increase in video views on smartphones. Overall, the study recorded a 417 percent increase in connected TV views in the U.S.
Worldwide, enterprise video registered a 91 percent uptick in views, year-over year. Similarly, there was a 175 percent rise in time watching connected TV.
Jim O’Neill, Brightcove principal analyst and the report’s author, stated: “With streaming, time and space restraints don’t exist as they do for broadcasters and publishers. Because of this, we’re seeing more consumers turn to streaming news sources to get that breaking news information they need to stay informed, and more importantly, healthy and safe.”
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