Time spent viewing digital video in the UK continues to grow, driven by the ever-rising amount of time we spend consuming content on our mobile devices.

According to eMarketer’s latest forecast, UK adults will spend an average of 59 minutes watching digital video each day, with around 28 minutes of that video viewing happening on a smartphone. Time spent viewing digital video on smartphones can be expected to increase to 35 minutes by 2020.

Mobile video is predicted to grow by more than 16 per cent in the UK this year with screen sizes getting larger and more affordable, and platforms like Snapchat and Instagram growing their user bases.

“Consumers in the UK are watching more digital video content, and more of it on smartphones, than ever before,” said Bill Fisher, UK senior analyst at eMarketer. “What they’re watching is changing slightly, though, with the influence of quality TV programming being keenly felt. We all know about the impact that subscription video-on-demand platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime have had on consumer behaviour. But even on platforms more associated with user-generated content (a la YouTube), there’s an increasing tilt toward longer-form viewing, often via channels on the platform with high production values. Marketers are watching this trend with interest, particularly given the ongoing saga that YouTube’s been having with brand safety.”