This opinion piece explains why the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ are offering mobile-centric video services at very low prices or for free in developing markets by quantifying the number of people with only mobile Internet access and homes without TV sets.  

Omdia view

Summary

Mobile video is becoming more like regular TV but with one major exception: for hundreds of millions of people, smartphones will be their main and perhaps only way to watch.

Watching long-form video on smartphones is mainstream worldwide

Mobile video viewing is widespread in both developed and developing markets. In the US, one in two online consumers (53%) surveyed by Omdia in April 2021 said they watch video on their smartphones. In more mobile-centric India, four out of five (80%) said so.