Mobile devices currently claim a mere 16% of the video ad spend, but their share will balloon to 40% in five years due to the rapid adoption of video viewing on devices—especially tablets. According to an eMarketer forecast released this week, Americans already watch more video on mobile devices than on PCs.
Still, desktop spending will continue to dominate video media in 2014, claiming $4.45 billion to mobile’s $1.44 billion, says eMarketer. By 2018, however, mobile spending is figured to hit $5.44 billion, compared to $6.83 billion for desktop.
A big reason for this, says the researcher, is the tablet’s replacement of the desktop and laptop computer in many American homes. More than three quarters of the 113 million tablet users in the U.S. watch videos on the device at least once a month, and eMarketer sees penetration rising to 87% in five years.
As for video viewing time, mobile is already dominant, claiming 33 minutes a day to desktop’s 22 minutes. Emarketer predicts that video viewing on tablets will increase by 54% this year to 20 minutes a day, while smartphones will rise 44% to 13 minutes.
