Report: U.S. Mobile Video Usage on the Rise

NEW YORK: The number of U.S. mobile subscribers watching video on their mobile devices increased more than 40 percent year-on-year in both the third and fourth quarters of 2010, according to a new report from The Nielsen Company. 

This accounted for nearly 25 million people for 2010. The mobile video users watched an average of four hours and 20 minutes of mobile video per month in Q3 and Q4, representing a 30-percent and 20-percent gain on the year prior for the respective quarters. 

Nielsen attributes part of the growing popularity to the rapid adoption of media-friendly mobile devices, including smartphones. In the fourth quarter of 2009, only 23 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers had smartphones, but by the end of 2010 penetration had reached 31 percent. Another factor is that it has become easier to find, view and share mobile video, either with mobile apps or the mobile web, says Nielsen.