Mobile is the main battlefield, what opportunities are there for online video?

On June 9, 2014, China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) released the "2013 Chinese Internet User Network Video Application Research Report", which showed that the number of users reached 428 million at the end of 2013, an increase of 15.2% compared with the end of the previous year (372 million), a net increase of 56.37 million. In 2013, the utilization rate of online video reached 69.3%, an increase of 3.4 percentage points from the end of the previous year.

The entire report includes the situation of online video users in China, their usage behaviors, paid video consumption, and the extended use of online video services. What is the development trend of online video in China after years of development? With the development of mobile Internet, what is the trend of mobile video? Regarding the "2013 Chinese Internet User Online Video Application Research Report", let's talk about two points:

Mobile is the main battlefield for future competition

(1) The usage rate of mobile devices has increased. Although PCs are still the preferred device for people to watch videos online, with 78.5% of people watching videos on PCs, the usage rate has dropped by 17.5 percentage points compared with last year. Mobile devices continue to gain momentum, with 62.2% of people watching videos on mobile devices, an increase of 12.8 percentage points from last year.

(2) Young users have a higher rate of mobile device usage. Among users aged 10 to over 60, only users under 10 have a higher rate of mobile device usage than PCs. The mobile device usage rate for users under 10 is 55.2%, while the PC device usage rate for users under 10 is only 44.1%. These "future stars" under 10 have been trained to use mobile devices to browse videos since childhood, and they will be the main habitat for future mobile video users.

(3) The viewing habits of mobile users are gradually forming. In 2012, only 12.5% ​​of users watched videos on mobile devices every day, and this figure increased to 30.8% this year; in 2012, 60.8% of users used mobile devices once a week or less, and this figure shrank to 24.9% in 2013.

(4) The overlap of PC users is high, while the overlap of mobile users is low. In terms of the overlap of PC users, 90% of users who have visited PPTV have visited Youku Tudou, 75.8% of users who have visited Youku Tudou have visited iQiyi PPS, and 51.7% of users have visited Tencent. On the mobile side, the overlap between major video websites and Youku Tudou and iQiyi PPS is above 60%.

(5) Video clients have become the main viewing channel for users. In 2012, 31% of users opened video clients to search for content, but this number rose to 38.6% in 2013. Users who searched through search engines accounted for 35.1% in 2012, but only 21.8% in 2013. Users who searched on video websites accounted for 27.5% in 2012, but this number rose to 34.6% in 2013.

The above data all show that the trend of users migrating to mobile terminals is inevitable. Mobile videos have become their main browsing channel for the next generation of children under the age of 10. There are currently dozens of video platforms in China, and mobile terminals are bound to become a battleground for these 10 video manufacturers.

What other opportunities are there for online video?

In addition to competing for mobile terminals, what other opportunities do video manufacturers have?

(1) Charging users. As of the end of December 2013, only 11.7% of video users had paid to watch videos, an increase of 3.6 percentage points from last year. Advertising is the main profit point for almost all video companies, but at the user level, they simply display ads to users without considering the user's interests fundamentally, which is also the reason why it is difficult for users to pay.

57.1% of users chose "more resources after paying" as the reason for paying, while 40.7% chose "cannot find free resources". In the final analysis, users choose to pay because of "content". Although many pirated video platforms were cracked down on in 2013 and 2014, the number of paying users may increase, but the actual user experience has not improved much.

Judging from the willingness to pay, online video manufacturers themselves do not intend to make profits from users. It should be noted that the advertising fees for exclusive content are as high as millions, and most ordinary users only pay more than 100 yuan per month. The difference between the two is far. The way online video does not make profits from users follows the bad habits left over from television. However, the television industry has developed TV shopping to profit from users, while online video members are still relying on content and no advertisements to attract users, which is obviously not enough.

Charging users will be a major trend in the future. This is a "virgin land" to be developed. Only 11.7% of users pay, which is obviously inconsistent with the popularity of online videos.

(2) Micro videos. 35.3% of users have experience in sharing videos on the website, 5.4% of respondents said they were very interested in micro videos, and 47.2% of users were relatively interested in micro videos, with the total being 52.6%.

Unlike online videos, micro videos are all UGC (user-generated content), and they are products based on social genes. They are also different from online videos, and micro videos will become a new growth point for online video platforms. Currently, domestic micro video platforms include Weishi, Miaopai, and Papaqi.

(3) Exclusive content. As the trend of combating piracy and mobile terminals in online video becomes increasingly obvious, exclusive content is the best product differentiation tool for online video platforms. In addition, at the level of paying users, scarce resources are also one of the main reasons why users pay.

(4) De-traffic. 88% of users use their mobile phones to watch videos because they have Wi-Fi installed at home. Traffic is still a "hard injury" for mobile video users. Therefore, it is important for online video platforms to de-traffic and allow users to use mobile devices to watch videos with confidence.

The above data comes from: "2013 Chinese Internet Users' Online Video Application Research Report"

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.