Verizon’s Look Forward report has a number of important insights, including the growing importance of streaming TV and mobile gaming.
The global pandemic has led to a digital transformation across multiple industries, cramming into a single year what would have taken several. Two industries that have seen massive growth are streaming services and mobile gaming.
According to Verizon’s Look Forward report, major streaming sites have seen a 21% increase over pre-pandemic levels. Rather than being an isolating experience, discussing streaming TV content has helped some 44% of adults content with friends and family.
Some 2 in 3 (67%) are watching at least 3 hours of live TV a week, with over half (59%) watching about the same amount of streaming TV. Just as significantly, of those who watch streaming content, 82% anticipate spending the same amount of time or more a year from now, indicating the uptick in content consumption is likely a permanent change.
Almost half (47%) of adults have subscribed to a new streaming service since the pandemic began, with 70% binge-watching shows at least once or twice.
Mobile gaming is another big winner during the pandemic, with 46% of people downloading or buying at least one mobile game during the pandemic. Interestingly, only 36% did the same with a computer or console game. Almost a third (31%) spend at least 3 hours a week playing a mobile game.
Some 32% of those who engaged in online gaming reported spending more time doing so now than at the beginning of the pandemic, with 45% saying they were spending about the same amount of time.
As Verizon’s report shows, streaming TV and mobile gaming have become staples of the pandemic era, and will likely continue to see major growth for years to come.