Canadians watched nearly 5.9 billion online videos a month during the fourth quarter of 2012, up from 5.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, reports comScore.

In its annual report on Canadian digital trends released Monday, the Toronto-based media-analytics company also said entertainment-video viewing continues to far outstrip the viewing of any other online video content (see table).

Meanwhile, the percentage of Canadian smartphone users who watched videos on their mobile devices more than doubled in the period, to 37% from 16%.

“Online video is of growing importance to the digital ecosystem as long-form viewing and premium programming migrates online,” the company said in a statement.

In the report, the company underscored that online video is “the bridge between traditional and digital platforms,” and will only grow in importance as digital device integration continues apace.

“With the platform shift in full swing, businesses will be challenged in the coming year to stay ahead of consumers’ usage curve and deliver the content they want, when and where they want it,” observed comScore. “It will also be imperative to maintain revenue streams in the core digital channels while capturing market share and monetizing emerging channels. Doing so will require businesses to get even smarter in how they scale their content to other platforms by developing integration strategies that deliver unique offerings to advertisers.”

From Playback Daily