84 per cent of UK mobile subscribers who have watched a major sporting event on their phone have since increased their mobile video consumption, according to research from QuickPlay Media. 

Its undeniable that mobile video is growing in popularity – 63 per cent of respondents watched TV or video on a mobile device, up from 51 per cent in 2011. QuickPlay reckons thats largely down to live TV, which is at 50 per cent of users is the most frequently-watched type of mobile video content, edging out VOD (Video On Demand) content at 40 per cent.

“These survey results are consistent with what we are seeing in our customer base: live TV is becoming a primary driver of demand for multiscreen services,” said QuickPlay CEO Wayne Purboo. “The 2012 Olympics shattered records for mobile video viewing, and this is driving longer-term consumer demand across a plethora of mobile devices. To capitalise on this demand, service providers are looking for cost effective solutions that enable them to rapidly scale multiscreen services while maintaining security and quality of the consumer viewing experience. As a result we are seeing more and more companies looking to managed services as a solution to scale at speed.”

Users still want to be able to access their content for free, though. OTT services such as LoveFilm and Netflix were the preferred service for just 13 per cent of mobile video users – and 49 per cent of respondents identifying a service being free as the key driver for choosing it.