Majority of Tablet Users Watch Video on their Device, 1 in Every 4 Viewers Pay to Watch | MMA Global

Majority of Tablet Users Watch Video on their Device, 1 in Every 4 Viewers Pay to Watch

June 11, 2012

Majority of Tablet Users Watch Video on their Device, 1 in Every 4 Viewers Pay to Watch

comScore Previews Findings from TabLens™, its Forthcoming Syndicated Tablet Measurement Service

 

RESTON, VA, June 8, 2012comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring
the digital world, today released new insights on the U.S. tablet market from comScore
TabLens™, its forthcoming monthly syndicated service providing insights into tablet
ownership and usage. The report found that tablets have quickly reached a
critical mass in the U.S. with 1 in every 4 smartphone owners using tablets
during the three-month average period ending April 2012. The study also found
that tablet users were nearly three times more likely to watch video on their
device compared to smartphone users, with 1 in every 10 tablet users viewing
video content almost daily on their device.

“Tablets are one of the most
rapidly adopted consumer technologies in history and are poised to
fundamentally disrupt the way people engage with the digital world both
on-the-go and perhaps most notably, in the home,” said Mark Donovan, comScore
SVP of Mobile. “It’s not surprising to see that once consumers get their hands
on their first tablet, they are using them for any number of media habits
including TV viewing.”

 

Tablets Used by 1 in Every 4 Smartphone Owners as Connected
Consumer Becomes a Reality

In just two years since the launch of the iPad, the first
tablet to reach a meaningful market penetration, tablet adoption has exploded
fueled by the introduction of new
devices that appeal to various price
and feature preferences. In April 2012, 16.5 percent of mobile phone
subscribers used a tablet, representing an increase of 11.8 percentage points
in the past year. Growth in market penetration was even more apparent among the
smartphone population with nearly 1 in 4 using a tablet device in April, an increase
of 13.9 percentage points in the past year. A lower 10.4 percent of feature
phone owners use a tablet, suggesting that smartphone ownership is highly
predictive of tablet adoption in the current market.

 

Tablet
Users Among Mobile Audiences
3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012 vs. Apr. 2011
Total U.S. Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone), Ages 13+

Source: comScore MobiLens

 

 

% of Audience that Uses Tablet

Apr-11

Apr-12

Point Change

Total
Mobile (Feature Phone & Smartphone)

4.7%

16.5%

11.8

Smartphone
Only

9.7%

23.6%

13.9

Feature
Phone Only

2.3%

10.4%

8.1

 

Demographic Profile: Tablet Users Skew Older and Towards
Upper Income Households

A demographic analysis of mobile
device audiences indicated that tablet and smartphone audiences closely
resemble one another in terms of gender composition, with tablet users just
slightly more likely to be female than smartphone users. However, the age composition
of audiences showed that tablet users skewed noticeably older than smartphone
users. For both devices, the heaviest overall audience concentration was
between the ages of 25-44. Compared to smartphone owners, tablet users were 28
percent more likely to be in the 65 and older age segment, and 27 percent less
likely to be age 18-24.  

 

Tablet users also skewed towards upper
income households, likely a function of the high price point of these devices
still considered a luxury good to many consumers. Nearly 3 in 5 tablet users resided
in households with income of $75,000 or greater, compared to 1 in every 2
smartphone users.  

 

Demographic
Profile: Tablet* and Smartphone Audience

3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012
Total U.S. Tablet Owners and Smartphone Subscribers, Age 13+
Source: comScore TabLens and comScore MobiLens

 

% Share of Tablet Audience

% Share of Smartphone Audience

Index of Tablet to Smartphone Audience**

Total Audience

100.0%

100.0%

100

Gender:

 

 

 

     Male

49.2%

51.6%

95

     Female

50.8%

48.4%

105

Age:

 

 

 

     13-17

7.3%

6.5%

112

     18-24

12.3%

16.9%

73

     25-34

24.4%

25.3%

96

     35-44

21.4%

21.2%

101

     45-54

17.8%

15.7%

113

     55-64

10.1%

9.2%

110

     65+

6.8%

5.3%

128

Household Income:

 

 

 

    <$25k

7.4%

11.7%

63

    $25k to <$50k

17.7%

19.5%

91

    $50k to <$75k

18.9%

19.5%

97

    $75k to <$100k

18.3%

15.9%

115

    $100k+

37.7%

33.4%

113

*comScore defines a media tablet as a touchscreen
tablet device with a slate form factor, a 7 inch or greater screen size and a
data connection, but no voice plan. Single purpose eBook reader devices are
excluded from this definition.

 

**Index = % of Tablet Audience/%
of Smartphone Audience x 100; Index of 100 indicates average representation

 

Tablet Audience Nearly 3x as Likely
to Watch Video as Smartphone Users

A closer look at content
consumption on tablets found that more than half of tablet users watched video and/or
TV content on their device in April 2012, compared to just 20 percent of the
smartphone audience, with larger screen sizes making tablets more conducive to
video consumption than their smaller-screen cousins. Not only were tablet users
more likely to watch video, but they were more likely to view video habitually with
18.9 percent of tablet users watching video content at least once a week, and 9.5
percent watching video nearly every day on their device.  Of those viewing video at least once during
the month, 1 in 4 (26.7 percent) paid to watch content, highlighting the tremendous
monetization potential this platform represents for content providers.

 

Video/TV
Viewing on Device for Tablet* and Smartphone Audience

3 month avg. ending Apr. 2012
Total U.S. Tablet Owners and Smartphone Subscribers, Age 13+
Source: comScore TabLens and comScore MobiLens

 

 

Share of Audience that Watched Video/TV on Device

% of Tablet Audience

% of Smartphone Audience

Ever
in month

53.0%

20.0%

Once
to three times throughout the month

24.6%

10.3%

At
least once each week

18.9%

6.7%

Almost
every day

9.5%

2.9%

*comScore defines a media tablet as a touchscreen
tablet device with a slate form factor, a 7 inch or greater screen size and a
data connection, but no voice plan. Single purpose eBook reader devices are
excluded from this definition.

 

 

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a
global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital
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