Video booms in “blockbuster” year for mobile apps

The State of Mobile 2022 report saw records across vertical industries as consumers continued to embrace a mobile lifestyle. Consumers spent $170 billion on apps, up 19% from last year and downloads grew at 5% year-on-year to reach 230 billion.

In the realm of video, App Annie noted that despite access to bigger screens, consumers were still watching content on mobile, with competition heating up in the space and exclusive content acting a way of drawing in new viewers. It added that exclusive content, strategically timed releases, and overseas expansion are fuelling growth in the video streaming sector — a mobile-first strategy is needed to succeed.

The study calculated that total hours spent watching video streaming apps had grown 16% worldwide since pre-pandemic levels. Most countries in Asia were found to have experienced growth in time spent among the top 20 video streaming apps, continuing the momentum first seen during the initial stage of the global pandemic. Conversely, in China, video streaming apps saw substantial declines as consumers increasingly gravitated towards short-form video apps.

The growing presence of TikTok and Kwai increased with total time spent in app grow by 205% and 225% since 2019, respectively. Indonesia and Russia saw the highest increases in total hours spent across their video streaming apps in 2021, with India’s MX Player being the primary driver of growth.

Exclusive content releases were driving drive spikes in video streaming apps and downloads amidst increased competition in 2021. App Annie discovered that as more people were forced indoors due to Covid-19 and continued to remain at home throughout 2021, demand for video streaming apps surged. To remain competitive, providers used exclusive content releases to capture market share. For example, the launch of Made for Love (TV Series) coincided with a 61% increase in downloads of the app, while Squid Game’s release in September 2021 saw a 6% boost for app downloads. The analyst stressed knowing what original content resonates with the target audience is crucial to staying ahead in an increasingly crowded space.

In terms of leading players, the State of Mobile 2022 report listed the top five global streaming apps by downloads as YouTube, Disney+, Tencent Video, HBO Max, Twitch, iQIYI, Netflix, Hulu, DAZN and Youku. Despite its relatively low place in the downloads listings, Netflix gained global leadership by reach and is set to surpass a1 million downloads in over 60 countries in 2022. Disney+ rivalled Amazon Prime Video’s global footprint, despite launching seven years later on mobile. Rapid TV News