Top 5 Media Insights from Brightcove's Global Video Index

The first half of 2020 brought changes to almost every aspect of life as the COVID-19 pandemic changed our behavior, outlook, and habits. Brightcove’s Q2 2020 Global Video Index found that watching more video than ever before became a global trend that kept on growing. In nearly every corner of the globe, in every household and apartment, streaming news, entertainment, and sports media was on the rise. In Q2, views were up a robust 40% compared to the previous year, following a quarter that saw growth top 23%.

The Video Index analyzed 400 billion anonymized data points from Brightcove’s streaming customers to draw insights into how audiences in every region of the globe consumed video content in Q2. It looked at when, how often, and on what devices they watched – and what that all means for the industry.

Here's a look at some of the top insights from the Video Index.

Connected TVs saw significant growth

The number of video views on connected TVs increased by 160% in Q2 globally as consumers spent more of their time watching video from their homes. But views on all devices increased during the first half of the year as video remained central to users sheltering at home. Will that trend continue? Or will we see a decline in video views as we come out of lockdown? COVID-19 has been video’s evolutionary moment, and, historically speaking, once consumers adapt to and adopt technology they almost never backslide. We’ll see smaller gains in Q3 and Q4, but, on the whole, expect the growth to continue.

Small screens are dominant in the exploding Asia-Pacific streaming market

Smartphones dominated the share of video views in Q2, with 89% of all video starting on the devices…most of which were Android-based. That’s a trend that has been evident in the region for several quarters and is unlikely to change. India, too, saw the share of views dominated by smartphones as the country’s expanding middle class goes mobile-first.

Both regions should see continued mobile strength, especially as next-gen 5G wireless technology gains traction. In Japan, views on smartphones – which had a 59% share of all video starts - were up by 33% for the quarter.

Smartphones are taking the lead when it comes to growth, but what kind?

According to our data, Android-based smartphones topped the global share of smartphone video views with 65% to iPhone’s 35%. That’s a ratio that’s changed over the past few quarters as iPhones have lost the leadership position to less expensive Android phones flooding the market. Streaming services need to be sure that they consider that when deciding what devices they’ll focus on.

93% growth in video views for Australia and New Zealand

With lockdown orders still in place, audiences in the ANZ region saw an overall increase in video views as entertainment and news media captured at-home viewers' attention. Mobile played a major role in ANZ. Interestingly, longer-form content was as likely to be completed while being watched on a smartphone as it was on a connected TV.

Views across Europe were up 52% and rising

For two straight quarters, viewing numbers in Europe have seen their biggest increases on smartphones. Q2 saw video views on smartphones jump 69% from Q2 2019, while views on all devices increased by 52%. CTVs, as in most other regions, also saw big gains in views as consumers turned to the biggest screen in the house to watch more video. On average, viewers watched three times as much content on CTVs as on any other device.