The big screen in the living room may still dominate the amount of time consumers spend watching video, but mobile is increasing in frequency of usage.
According to the newest State of Mobile report from App Annie, consumers worldwide spent 50% more sessions in entertainment apps in 2019 than in 2017. That increase was driven largely by international markets. Mobile sessions in India were up 80% over that time period, while France saw a 60% increase and Japan, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Canada were all up more than 40%.
In the meantime, sessions on mobile video entertainment apps were up 20% in the U.S.
“High quality streaming, growth in user-generated content, and offline mode becoming standardized were industry advancements that helped tip the scales from screen size to on-the-go viewing,” the report said. App Annie also said that competition in the video streaming space will help improve user experiences on mobile, which in turn will drive more revenue in the space and could lead to more partnerships and consolidation.
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App Annie also looked at how many consumers are using multiple streaming video apps, particularly how usage of emerging apps overlaps with streaming giants like Netflix. Nearly 25% of Netflix’s iPhone users also used Disney+ in the fourth quarter of 2019, its highest overlap of users among top video streaming apps in the U.S.
TikTok saw the highest two-year growth in cross-app usage of Netflix at more than 135%, according to the report. The report said this indicates that “competition in the video streaming space is heating up not only by traditional companies launching standalone streaming services, but from social media companies carving new mobile-first consumption pathways.”