Highlights

• Video Abstracts (VAs) have evolved from experimental novelties into essential tools for research dissemination, significantly enhancing scholarly communication in a digital-first era, offering a repeatable model for maximizing impact in a competitive digital landscape.

• The MDPI Video Service produced 118 professional VAs in collaboration with 68 journals across 11 disciplines, serving 1,149 researchers and fostering a vibrant academic community.

• Video abstracts demonstrate exceptional multi-platform growth, with over 700% year-over-year viewer growth on some platforms and up to 99% new audience reach through social media amplification.

• VAs significantly boost article visibility, downloads, and citations, with case studies showing marked increases across journals such as Remote Sensing, Animals, Nutrients, and Entropy.

1. Introduction

In 2011, quantum physicist Barry Sanders and his team at the University of Calgary broke new ground by publishing a video abstract (VA) alongside their pioneering research on qubits ¹. This four-minute visual summary, shared on YouTube amid viral content of cats and pop music, demonstrated a transformative idea: complex science could be communicated dynamically, reaching audiences far beyond traditional academic circles.

Over a decade later, video abstracts (VAs) have evolved from experimental novelties into essential tools for research dissemination. As digital platforms dominate how knowledge is consumed and shared, the question is no longer whether video abstracts will endure, but how they redefine scholarly impact.

In 2025, MDPI launched its Academic Video Service, aiming to support scholars through the production of Video Abstracts, Short Takes, Scholar Interview and Profile Videos. MDPI Video Service has witnessed a remarkable surge in interest from researchers worldwide. A growing community of scholars has moved beyond merely discovering video abstracts to actively embracing their production, recognizing their power to transform specialized research into accessible knowledge.

This report compiles and analyzes data from the first year of MDPI video service, with a focus on evaluating the role of VAs in enhancing scholarly communication.

2. Background and Market Context

2.1. The Visual Turn in Scholarly Communication

The global video streaming market is projected to grow from USD 131.44 billion in 2024 to approximately USD 599.2 billion in 2033 ², and many findings have indicated that progressive use of social networking tools for informal scholarly communication ³, reflecting the increasing social reliance on video-based content. Within this context, scholarly communication is undergoing a “visual shift,” leading to the rise of VAs.

The evolution of academic video publication—from early initiatives such as Screenworks (distributed alongside The Journal of Media Practice on DVD in 2006) to established platforms like JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments)—reflects the formal recognition of video as a legitimate form of scholarly output, now indexed in major academic databases ⁴. This institutional acceptance aligns with a broader shift in researcher practice, as scholars increasingly utilize social media as a professional platform to amplify the reach and impact of their work ⁵.

2.2. Core Value Proposition of VAs

By combining dynamic visuals and narration, VAs distill and visualize the core concepts, methods, and contributions of academic papers. A growing body of research indicates that video content can contribute to an increase in various research metrics, such as citations and views ⁶. They fulfill key roles in several communication scenarios:

• For broader research audiences (e.g., policymakers, industry R&D personnel, advanced students): Expand the reach and social visibility of academic work.

• For domain experts: Provide a more intuitive and information-dense overview than textual abstracts, improving literature screening efficiency.

• For interdisciplinary scholars: Reduce comprehension barriers and foster cross-disciplinary innovation.

Within this expanding ecosystem, a growing number of academic service providers—including established players such as Springer Nature’s Video Abstract services, Wiley’s Research Video initiatives, and Taylor & Francis’s multimedia publishing programs—have entered the field, recognizing the potential of video to enhance research communication.

3. VA Production and Dissemination Data from MDPI Academic Video Service, 2025

All data in this section, covering the period from October 31, 2024, to October 31, 2025, are derived from the platform’s internal database and public analytics from third-party services including YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. Where applicable, performance is compared to the previous annual period (from October 31, 2023 to October 31, 2024) to illustrate growth and trends.

3.1. Production Scale and Scholarly Coverage

The inaugural year of MDPI's Academic Video Service has established a robust foundation for video abstract production and distribution. The service has successfully engaged a broad academic community while developing specialized content across multiple disciplines. The following data outlines the scope and reach achieved during the reporting period.

Some of the partner journal series.

• The service produced 118 professional VAs and maintained 13 active VA-related video series.

• Collaborative partnerships with 68 leading academic journals span 11 major disciplines, including Medicine & Pharmacology, Biology & Life Sciences, Engineering, Environmental & Earth Sciences, Computer Science & Mathematics, Chemistry & Materials Science, Public Health & Healthcare, Social Sciences, Public Health & Healthcare, Business & Economics, Arts & Humanities.

• A total of 1,149 researchers have been served, including 60 scholars who participated in customized VA production, with all content distributed through social media channels (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Researchers served. All data was obtained from Encyclopedia.

3.2. Multi-Platform Dissemination & Performance

VAs demonstrated strong performance across multiple distribution channels, showing substantial growth in reach and engagement metrics during the reporting period. Across the Encyclopedia platform, Facebook, and YouTube (data from LinkedIn and X excluded), the produced VAs collectively accumulated 1,073,985 views and 51,285,055 impressions.

As one of MDPI's key academic initiatives, Encyclopedia serves as the primary platform for delivering integrated academic services. All produced VAs were published through this platform.

The year-over-year data reveals a story of validated success.

• The video content generated a monumental 45,553,063 total impressions, 52,515 total views， 13064 unique viewers.

• Unprecedented Audience Expansion: Unique viewers grew from 1,589 (2023-2024) to 13,064 (2024-2025), a 723% year-over-year increase, demonstrating the efficient capture of audience interest at scale.

The VAs produced were simultaneously released on the YouTube channel. YouTube channel serves as a critical engine for global discoverability, showing strong year-over-year growth across all key metrics (Table 1). The following are the browsing-related data of VAs collected from the YouTube channel.

Table 1. Year-over-Year (YoY) Performance - video abstract channel metrics. All data was obtained from YouTube.

• Given that the VAs produced and published are generally around 4 minutes long, a watch time of 2:58 is equivalent to viewing nearly 74% of a VA.

3.3. Disciplinary Distribution of VA Engagement

By analyzing and structuring VA browsing data across disciplines and research fields, we identified pronounced variations in the level of interest in VA among scholars. These variations are evident in both the propensity to create VA and the degree of engagement in consuming VA content.

As shown in Figure 1, life sciences domains demonstrate the strongest participation, with Medicine & Pharmacology achieving the highest view times (12,754) and Biology & Life Sciences attracting the largest viewer base (2,858) while leading in interaction metrics. Engineering and Chemistry & Materials Science maintain solid mid-tier performance with 6,478 and 5,184 view times respectively. Environmental & Earth Sciences (4,987 view times) and Social Sciences (4,674 view times) show established audience interest, while Computer Science & Mathematics (4,603 view times) demonstrates consistent engagement (Figure 2). The findings indicate that scholars in medical, biological, and engineering fields are most active in watching video abstracts.

Figure 2. Distribution of page views by academic discipline. Medicine, Biology, and Engineering ranked among the top three. All data was obtained from Encyclopedia.

The following chart (Figure 3, 4) reveals clear patterns in audience distribution across academic disciplines, providing insights into which fields show the strongest engagement (comments, likes, favourites) with video abstracts.

Figure 3. Distribution of viewers by academic discipline. While the top three fields remained unchanged, Biology drew a larger audience despite having fewer videos. All data was obtained from Encyclopedia.

Figure 4. Distribution of video engagements by academic discipline. Biology and Medicine showed noticeably higher engagement compared to other disciplines. All data was obtained from Encyclopedia.

Biology & Life Sciences leads in audience reach with 2,858 viewers, closely followed by Medicine & Pharmacology with 2,720 viewers. These two disciplines together account for the largest share of VA viewership, reflecting strong scholarly interest in life science content.

Based on the survey conducted by MDPI Video Service regarding user satisfaction (Figure 5), approximately 50% of VA users hold professorial positions, including full professor, associate professor, and assistant professor. PHD Student and PostDoctoral researcher comprise 8.3% and 16.7% of the user base, respectively. non-academic institution researcher account for 8.4%, while independent researchers represent 4.2%. The remainder consists of roles such as Consultant , visiting scientist , and retired researcher.

Figure 5. Word cloud of user attributes. All data was obtained from the video service survey.

Overall, the VA audience is predominantly composed of research professionals. The higher level of engagement observed among professors suggests that their interest in VA is likely driven by teaching and presentation requirements, stronger funding capacity, and sustained academic output. Furthermore, while the non-academic segment represents slightly more than 8% of users, it demonstrates tangible potential and should not be viewed as a market without opportunity.

3.4. Other Video Product Performance

Throughout the reporting period, the MDPI Academic Video Service created 13 Scholar Interview videos, presenting conversations with prominent academics on their research and perspectives. This format holds particular appeal for audiences seeking direct insights from researchers.

As shown in Table 2, the series recorded 2,284 view times. It gained prominent exposure via 632,006 main page impressions and secured extensive reach through 5,310,963 recommending impressions.

Table 2. Performance of Scholar Interview series. All data was obtained from Encyclopedia.

This finding indicates a broad acceptance among scholars of interview-based video formats as an effective medium for content delivery. The strong performance across discovery channels suggests the content aligns well with diverse audience preferences.

3.5. Academic Community Engagement Through VA Activities

MDPI video service launched a ScholarVision Creations event on the Encyclopedia platform in 2024. The event was designed to introduce users to VAs and engage them in the VA production process. The event concluded with a vote to select the most popular VA created during the event period. The event drew considerable participation from scholars, generating notable momentum and interest in video abstracts (Table 3). Its strong reception reflects a clear interest among researchers in VAs as a format for academic communication.

Table 3. Performance metrics of ScholarVision Creations Event and platform engagement. All data was obtained from Encyclopedia.

• The event yielded 40 videos and involved 204 participants. Four researchers garnered awards for outstanding contributions, while participants completed 2,669 engagements during the event (engagements include creating entries, submitting images, editing entries, and similar actions).

• Pageviews increased by ~930% and Visitors by ~690%, indicating highly effective audience reach.

The exceptionally high conversion rate of new users into credit recipients directly reflects strong user interest in the campaign's core value and a clear intent to engage with VA creation.

4. Impact of Video Abstracts on Enhancing Research Visibility

The effect of VA on article performance represents the primary area of concern among scholars. Accordingly, this section consolidates data collected from the VAs and articles, examining both VAs' impact on the corresponding original articles and the dissemination performance across online channels.

4.1. VA-Driven Changes in Article Reach and Metrics

Over the past year, tracking the performance of the VA Series and comparing the data with that of the previous reporting cycle reveals a clear trend: VA viewership has grown exponentially. Sustained content output has driven increases ranging from fivefold to several dozen times in views.

Equally notable is the substantial growth in platform-wide exposure, which has expanded into the millions. This marks a dramatic rise from the previous statistical period (2023–2024), when total exposure across all VA series remained below 400,000 (395,444).(Table 4).

Table 4. VA series have achieved viewership growth ranging from fivefold to several dozen times. Exposure for individual series has now reached the million-level scale. All data was obtained from Encyclopedia. *The JCM VA series was established in 2025 and therefore does not have corresponding data for the previous statistical period (2023–2024).

A comparative study was designed using articles published in the same journal during the same period, with the sample divided into two groups: one containing VAs and the other without. The selected journals include Journal of Clinical Medicine (JCM), Agronomy, Remote Sensing, and Nutrients, which have Impact Factors of 2.9, 3.4, 4.1, and 5.0, respectively. Cumulative data across the reporting cycle were collected, and mean values for views, downloads, and citations were calculated for each group. Comparison of these averages reveals the observable impact of VAs on key article dissemination metrics. (Figure 6, 7, 8).

Figure 6. After implementing VA, the average view count of all journals significantly exceeded that of those without VA. All data was obtained from MDPI.

Figure 7. Comparison of average article downloads with and without VA support across four journals, showing consistent increases in downloads for video-supported articles, with relative uplifts ranging from 3.94% to 47.19%. All data was obtained from MDPI.

Figure 8. Comparison of average article impact metrics for articles published with and without MDPI Academic Video support across four journals, showing consistently higher values for video-supported articles. All data was obtained from MDPI.

In terms of uplift magnitude, page views increase by as much as 112.25% for Remote Sensing, citation growth reaches a peak of 201.2% for JCM, and download growth spans a range of 3.94% to 47.19%. These results highlight clear differences in the strength of the VA service across dimensions of content dissemination and scholarly impact.

Remote Sensing emerges as the journal benefiting most strongly from VA, recording a 112.25% surge in page views—the highest among all journals—alongside a 51% increase in citations and a 3.94% rise in downloads. This profile reflects an exposure-driven, burst-style growth pattern. For newly integrated JCM articles, VA demonstrates exceptional effectiveness in driving both academic impact (citations) and downstream conversion (downloads). This finding aligns with the earlier analysis, which indicates stronger audience engagement with biology & medicine content. By contrast, Agronomy exhibits a well-balanced response to VA , with no pronounced weaknesses and steady improvements across the entire dissemination-to-impact pipeline. Nutrients also records positive gains across all three indicators (citations +30.61%, downloads +12.35%, views +9.22%), though the overall uplift remains comparatively limited and weaker than that observed for the other three journals.

Taken together, the results show that VA effectively enhances both dissemination efficiency (views to downloads) and academic impact (citations) across all four journals. However, its effectiveness is clearly shaped by disciplinary characteristics: technology-focused journals (e.g., Remote Sensing ) tend to realize rapid gains in visibility through VA , whereas medical journals (e.g., JCM ) demonstrate superior performance in translating enhanced exposure into deeper academic influence.

4.2. Impact of Video Abstracts on Research Dissemination

The deployment of a VA serves as an effective catalyst for the associated research article, as evidenced by the Encyclopedia video dashboard and data from social media platforms.

Each VA prominently features the article’s DOI within the video content itself. This design ensures a direct navigational pathway from VA exposure to the original publication, providing a clear analytical rationale for attributing changes in article access (views) behavior to VA visibility.

The impact of the VA on article visibility is assessed by continuously monitoring and comparing article access data before and after the VA is made available online.

Case 1: Recent Advances in Crop Disease Detection Using UAV and Deep Learning Techniques

This section presents a traffic trend assessment for an article published on May 6, 2023, with particular focus on the launch of its associated VA feature on September 3, 2024.

During the pre-launch baseline period (June–August 2025), the article sustained a stable average of 737 monthly visits. A clear inflection point emerged in September 2024 following the VA rollout, as monthly traffic rose sharply to 1,050 visits (Figure 9), reflecting a 29.6% month-over-month increase. This level also exceeded the article’s first-month (May 2023) post-publication traffic (782 visits) by 34.3%, underscoring the incremental exposure generated by the VA feature.

This uplift persisted over the next two months, with page views peaking at 1,248 in October and 1,242 in November 2024. Across this critical growth window (September–November 2024), the article recorded an average of 37.7 daily views. Relative to the full-lifecycle daily average of 29.0 views calculated up to October 31, 2025, performance during this peak period was approximately 30% higher, further validating the short-term amplification effect of VA on content dissemination.

Figure 9. View Trend of Case 1 Before and After the VA Launch. All data was obtained from MDPI.

Article traffic following the VA launch exhibited a distinct three-month pulse of accelerated growth, followed by a gradual normalization, forming a characteristic “launch-driven uplift followed by decay” trajectory.

Case 2: A Survey of Object Detection for UAVs Based on Deep Learning

The article examined in this analysis was initially published on December 29, 2023, with its associated VA content released on February 24, 2024.

During the pre-launch organic growth phase (January–February 2024), the article exhibited stable and consistent performance. Average daily traffic remained at 17.7 views, while monthly views increased gradually from 535 to 639 (Figure 10), implying a normal early-stage growth pattern without external intervention.

The deployment of VA marked a clear inflection point in the traffic trajectory. In the first full month following launch (March 2024), article views increased sharply by 62.4% to 1,038. Following a brief and modest correction in April 2024—likely attributable to natural fluctuation—traffic rebounded strongly, reaching a cycle peak of 1,415 views in May 2024. This period represents the concentrated realization of the synergistic impact generated by VA .

Subsequent to the peak, beginning in June 2024, article traffic entered a gradual and anticipated normalization phase, ultimately stabilizing at a sustained level that remained structurally higher than the initial baseline.

Figure 10. View Trend of Case 2 Before and After the VA Launch. All data was obtained from MDPI.

Overall, this pattern aligns with a classic content re-amplification lifecycle, wherein the introduction of VA catalyzes short-term pulse growth, followed by convergence toward a new steady state.

Throughout August and September, the watch time maintained consistently high performance, reflecting stable viewer interest and strong retention. The stability during this period suggests the content has lasting value and continues to attract views well beyond its release date. While a gradual decline is visible from October onwards—a common pattern for published content over time.

Furthermore, the post for the VA achieved 819 impressions and an impressive 312 views on LinkedIn. In other words, the video achieved a view-through rate (VTR) of 39.2%, calculated by dividing views by impressions (321/819). This substantially exceeds typical industry benchmarks for academic and professional content, which generally range between 15-25%. The high VTR indicates significant content relevance and appeal to the target audience. Over the past year, the average VTR of all the VAs published on LinkedIn reached an impressive 62.4%, well above the general range mentioned earlier.

5. Conclusions and Outlook

The evidence presented in this report leads to an unequivocal conclusion: in an increasingly crowded digital landscape, the VA has evolved from a novel supplement into a critical component of a modern research dissemination strategy.

The data confirms that VAs deliver transformative value by directly addressing the core challenge of academic visibility.

For Authors: VAs capture global attention and drive engagement, translating into increased article visibility and academic impact.

For Journals: VAs significantly boost content consumption metrics and expand readership through algorithmic distribution, enhancing the journal's reach and influence.

Looking forward, the integration of video into scholarly communication is not a passing trend but a fundamental shift. Many researchers feel that deepening understanding is a collaborative effort. Thus, extending an invitation for others to engage with their work is a natural and rewarding step.

About MDPI Video Service

MDPI Video Service was launched in 2025 to meet the growing demand for dynamic research dissemination. The service offers comprehensive video solutions including Video Abstracts, Short Takes, and Profile Videos. MDPI video service provides a one-stop service, including one-on-one video assistance, script writing, high-quality animation, a native speaker voice, quality assurance, and social media promotion. For video examples, Heat-Sealing Process for Chañar Brea Gum Films and ESG Reporting for Large US Airports.

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