There plenty of good news for streaming platforms in 2020.
There has been a 67 percent growth in video views on connected TVs in the first half of this year, and a 75 percent year-over-year growth in video starts in April. That’s according to Brightcove’s Global Video Index for Q2 report.
In North America, video views rose 64 percent and 40 percent globally. CTV views soared 160 percent YOY globally, too.
Given the popularity of mobile viewing, Brightcove noted a 47 percent growth in smartphone video views in the first six months of the year.
HBO Max debuted in May. Disney+ announced big subscriber gains in August (60 million), as did Hulu (35.5 million) and ESPN+ (8.5 million) at the end of June. Netflix added nearly 26 million subscribers in the period. Peacock debuted nationwide in July.
Per the report: “The ability to build bundles of content that appeal to individuals’ tastes has been a major draw, one that is going to continue to grow even as traditional TV – especially pay TV – loses traction with consumers, who want to watch when and where they want to.”
“The streaming industry is exploding faster than we’ve ever seen before. While much can be attributed to COVID-19 keeping people indoors, stay-at-home orders do not account for the entirety of recent growth,” stated Jim O’Neill, principal analyst and author of the index.
Brightcove concludes the number of videos consumed in Q2, as well as the amount of time spent watching videos, is “not a trend we’re likely to see falter in Q3, as more people have turned to viewing subscription and ad-supported streaming video.”