Mobile video in the United States - statistics & facts
With the wide availability of high-speed mobile internet and the ever-growing digital content landscape, it comes as no surprise that mobile video viewing has become increasingly popular in the United States. As of March 2023, almost 70 percent of the digital video content audience in the United States was reported to watch videos on their smartphones, compared to 59 percent of respondents who said the same about watching video on a smart TV, a more established device for online video consumption. On average, almost 16 percent of the total time spent streaming video content in the North American region saw users engaging with their smartphones and mobile phones.
From social videos to fitness platforms and streaming subscription services, there is an abundance of video content available to mobile audiences in the United States. In June 2023, ad-supported platform YouTube reached approximately 74 percent of U.S. mobile audiences, while video content hosted on social platform TikTok saw a reach of almost 38 percent. Apart from Google’s go-to video platform YouTube, most streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video have also launched mobile apps to enable their subscribers to watch shows and movies on the go. However, according to a survey of users in the United States and Canada, smartphone viewership was more common when consuming content from virtual multichannel video programming distributors than for subscription-based services.
As of March 2023, TikTok counted 150 million monthly users (MAU) in the United States, up from the 100 million MAU recorded in August 2020. The platform, which has been in the legal spotlight since 2020, was officially banned in the state of Montana in May 2023. In the future, TikTok’s main competitors Instagram reels and YouTube Shorts – which function as in-app features of the main platforms – might benefit from the climate of instability around the topic of a possible country-wide TikTok ban.
From social videos to fitness platforms and streaming subscription services, there is an abundance of video content available to mobile audiences in the United States. In June 2023, ad-supported platform YouTube reached approximately 74 percent of U.S. mobile audiences, while video content hosted on social platform TikTok saw a reach of almost 38 percent. Apart from Google’s go-to video platform YouTube, most streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video have also launched mobile apps to enable their subscribers to watch shows and movies on the go. However, according to a survey of users in the United States and Canada, smartphone viewership was more common when consuming content from virtual multichannel video programming distributors than for subscription-based services.
Benchmarks of mobile video entertainment success
As Amazon Prime includes the popular video-on-demand Amazon Prime Video, the platform was the most renowned online streaming service among U.S. consumers at the beginning of 2023 – with approximately 17 percent of respondents reporting to be aware of the service and willing to download the service’s mobile app. Netflix was the video streaming brand with the second highest awareness and download intent among U.S. consumers. The U.S. Netflix app has been on a downward trend since 2016, recording 6.75 million during the second quarter of 2023. Additionally, despite being one of the mobile apps U.S. consumers reported being the most satisfied with, the platforms presents low reach – less than 40 percent as of January 2023.TikTok’s competitors gain ground in the U.S. market
With the rise of TikTok during the global COVID-19 pandemic, mobile social video has established itself as one of the most popular formats among content creators and online audiences. Be it professionally produced video content posted by creators on TikTok or snaps shared with friends on Snapchat – social is mobile. In September 2022, Instagram reels generated around two billion likes and interactions among U.S. consumers, while TikTok generated one billion engagement actions.As of March 2023, TikTok counted 150 million monthly users (MAU) in the United States, up from the 100 million MAU recorded in August 2020. The platform, which has been in the legal spotlight since 2020, was officially banned in the state of Montana in May 2023. In the future, TikTok’s main competitors Instagram reels and YouTube Shorts – which function as in-app features of the main platforms – might benefit from the climate of instability around the topic of a possible country-wide TikTok ban.
