MUMBAI: Watching video content on computers has become just as common as watching video content on television among online consumers, according to Nielsen’s global survey of multi-screen media usage.

More than 80 per cent of Internet respondents in 56 countries reported watching video content at home on a computer (84 per cent) or on TV (83 per cent) at least once a month. By contrast, in 2010, more online consumers reported watching video content on TV (90 per cent) than on a computer (86 per cent) in a month-long period.

While the in-home TV and computer are still the most popular devices to watch video content, usage and growth in online and mobile technologies is making a sustained impact. Three-quarters (74 per cent) of global respondents report watching video via the Internet (on any device), up four points since 2010, and over half of global online consumers (56 per cent) say they watch video on a mobile phone at least once a month and 28 per cent at least once a day.

Mobile video is particularly prominent in Asia-Pacific and Middle East/African regions, where 74 and 72 per cent of online consumers, respectively, report watching video on mobile phones at least once a month, and almost 40 per cent (38 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively) say they do so at least once a day.

While mobile video is currently less prominent in North America than in other parts of the world, it is seeing the highest growth rates in mobile phone video consumption. 38 per cent of North American respondents say they watch mobile video once a month, up eight points compared to the 2010 reported results.

Nielsen senior VP, client insights Dounia Turrill said, “The convenience of mobile connectivity has revolutionised how people are engaging with digital content and each other around the world. With the growth of smartphones, mobile video consumption is on the rise for entertainment content, particularly in emerging markets where many consumers leapfrog home Internet altogether in favour of the all-in-one smartphone.”