Mobile measurement company M:Metrics has released a report that indicates the mobile video market is growing at an impressive rate here in the U.S. Leading the growth: viral content.

With 6.8 million viewers, viral video is the most popular type of video content in the U.S., a figure that increased by 36 percent since January. The audience viewing programmed mobile video, meaning video content delivered on-deck over the carrier network, stands at 2.7 million, up 28 percent from the beginning of the year.

"This data is very encouraging news for the growth of mobile as an advertising-supported medium," said Seamus McAteer, chief product architect and senior analyst, M:Metrics. "Clearly, there is the foundation of a market for premium paid video content, which underlies the potentially much more substantial opportunity for free ad supported material."

Those who are tuning into mobile TV watch short-format or news-related content. Music videos are the most popular genre of on-demand TV content, followed by movie trailers, weather and sports.

Still an early-adopter market, the audience skews toward young males. With 9.7 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds watching mobile video, this group is more than two and a half times more likely to watch video of some kind on their mobile device.