To call tablets and mobile devices “pretty popular” would be an understatement. In fact, in the fourth quarter of 2012 alone, viewers have watched five times the live videos on tablets, and four times the videos on mobile devices, than in previous years.

According to the “Global Video Index: 2012 Year in Review” report from Ooyala, time spent watching streaming video on tablets and mobile phones have increased by 100 percent in 2012. About one third of all the time spent watching videos on tablets last quarter was on premium content that lasts for more than 60 minutes.

When it comes to device versus device, iPhone (News - Alert) users have watched twice as much as  than Android users. This is likely due to the iPhone being more popular among the general population, who use these devices for viewing videos on sites such as YouTube, Hulu (News - Alert), and so on.

“Streaming video has crossed an inflection point and it’s now a necessary channel for both consumers as well as broadcasters, brands and media companies around the world,” says Ooyala CEO, Jay Fulcher. “The data we provide in this report, and direct to our customers, is critical to understanding how consumers are engaging with video online. These insights help our customers deliver more engaging, personalized video experiences, and as a result, make more money from online video.”

Of course, video streaming is useful both in and out of a business context. Many people just like watching videos on the go on their devices, while live streaming has proven very useful for companies making announcements, universities teaching students from afar, and much more.

As such, we can expect to see the numbers continue to rise in the coming years. For a more complete look at all that has happened in video in 2012, one can check out the report from Ooyala, since this shows quite clearly how mobile video is on the rise, and isn’t slowing down.