Tablets Used to Watch Videos More Often than Smartphones

RESTON: New comScore research finds that tablet users are nearly three times more likely to watch video on their device compared to smartphone users.

comScores TabLens reveals that tablets have reached critical mass in the U.S., with one in ever four smartphone owners using tablets during a three-month average period ending in April. One in every ten tablet users reported viewing video content almost daily on their device.

Tablet owners were not only more likely to watch video, they were also more likely to do so habitually, with 18.9 percent of tablet users watching video at least once a week, compared with 6.7 percent for smartphone owners. Nearly 10 percent say they watch video nearly every day on the device. Of those reporting viewing video at least once a month, one in four say they’ve paid to watch content. This highlights the monetization potential this platform presents for content providers.

“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’s senior VP 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.”