Mobile Channels Reaching TV-sized Audiences

Now TV Lifestyle ShootMobile games and entertainment apps have reached a point where their reach, session times and levels of engagement now rival traditional TV channels, marking a seismic shift in how we engage with media and the power of mobile.

Thats one of the key takeaways from Opera Mediaworks latest Mobile First Insights report, which covers Q1 2016. Popular apps like Shazam, The Weather Channel and BBC iPlayer now boast monthly audiences higher than prestige dramas like Game of Thrones and Line of Duty, and wide-reaching shows like Sky Sports Super Sunday and Gogglebox.

Games, entertainment and news apps all represent in excess of 10 per cent of total impressions monthly, along with social networking, while app categories such as lifestyle and gaming rank in the top five for both click-through rate and conversion rates when it comes to advertising.

Overall, comparing the value of app advertising against similar campaigns run on the mobile web, impressions in apps average click-through rates of more than double the mobile web, and generate over 13 times the revenue.

Looking at the top 100 apps in the US, mobile users are spending 30 minutes a day in-app, with session times over eight minutes on average. 80 per cent of that time will be spent in just three apps, indicating the importance of providing an engaging and useful app experience to consumers. If you manage to become one of a users three key apps, you could be gaining a huge amount of exposure.