TV Apps Are Soaring in Popularity, Report Says

When it comes to online video, people may not want to cut the cord. Instead, they want to take the cord with them. People are streaming broadcast television on their smartphones in record numbers, according to Adobe’s state-of-the-industry report on digital video viewing.

Online video has reached record numbers, according to the report, compiled by Adobe Digital Index, the marketing and research arm of Adobe. Mobile video viewing went up 57 percent over the same time in 2013, and overall online video was up 43 percent, representing more than 35 billion viewings. Among the report’s more interesting findings are that TV Everywhere -- a term for authenticated viewing of broadcast shows from channels you subscribe to on your cable or satellite network -- is approaching mainstream use and is growing much faster than other online video sources like YouTube, Hulu or Daily Motion.

However, Adobe’s numbers do not include Netflix, which has about 48 million subscribers worldwide, so cord-cutting might not be entirely off the table. Authenticated TV viewing is more palatable to content providers than services like Netflix, because it encourages people to keep their ad-rich cable subscriptions, and gives them the benefit of streaming the TV they already pay for.