With an increased focus on streaming media boxes, all-in-one entertainment devices, and smart TVs, tech manufacturers are now more focused on dominating the living room than ever before. The war may already have been lost, however, as it now appears consumers are more enamored of mobile devices than any of these other streaming solutions.

Market research firm ABI Research today released a new report showing that mobile video viewing is quickly emerging as a preferred method of viewing content online. The firm estimates that mobile video views from tablets and smartphones already make up over 20% of all online video views. Mobile video viewing is expected to continue its rise, with ABI predicting it will rise to make up more than 40% of online video views over the next five years.

In addition to the rise in views, ABI believes consumers will continue to increase the time they are spending watching video content on smartphones and tablets. The firm forecasts that the average time spent watching online video via mobile devices will hit 21 hours per month in 2019.

Though pay TV will continue to have a large foothold for the video entertainment industry, tablets in particular are set to move in on TVs territory. Whether as a primary or secondary viewing device, more households than ever are now using tablets for personalized viewing experiences.

“Mobile viewing also creates additional touch-points which can greatly increase the number of content plays per household – be it multiple household members each watching on mobile screens or multitasking while sitting in front of the TV,” said Michael Inouye, senior analyst at ABI. “In addition, as pay TV services continue to extend the reach of multiscreen services we expect more content, like live sporting events, to play an increasing role on mobile devices.”

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