Over the last ten years there has been an increased focus on mobile devices as a key way to reach consumers, and for good reason. Mobile phones are nearly ubiquitous and smartphone penetration continues to rise, now trailing only TVs and DVD/Blu-ray players in US households (CEA, 17th Annual CE Ownership and Market Potential Study). Video is coming to the forefront across the key mobile channels, particularly social. So conventional wisdom on advertising in digital video might suggest a focus on mobile. However, while some studies have shown that consumers are increasingly watching more content for extended periods of time on their phones (IAB, Mobile Video Consumption -- A Global Perspective), when it comes to long-form, premium content, you have to start with the living room.
For the past five quarters at Hulu we’ve been observing a steady shift of consumption to the living room -- that’s devices like smart TVs, connected devices and gaming consoles. Living room viewing now accounts for more than 58 percent of all of content streams. In early 2014 we saw this trend emerge, when for the first time living room consumption surpassed the PC. And it’s grown quickly: By the 3rd quarter of 2014, living room viewing accounted for half of all streams on Hulu. Freewheel notes similar growth patterns in their latest Monetization Report, where they show that viewing on living room devices grew 380% versus the same quarter last year, more than three times the growth of smartphone consumption in the same time period.