TV users are slowly leaving the campfire

MK How important is television as a medium in Switzerland?MIRKO MARR Compared to other countries, people in Switzerland watch relatively little TV. We rank last in Europe in terms of viewing time. The explanation is simple: Countries with higher levels of prosperity and long working hours tend to have lower TV viewership. In Switzerland, people also rarely watch TV at noon—in stark contrast to Southern European countries, where people watch TV during their siesta.MK How much have television viewing habits changed in Switzerland?MARR Viewing habits haven’t changed as much as one might think. Daily reach remains stable across all age groups, while viewing time has declined only slightly. It’s true that today there are numerous ways to break free from the constraints of scheduled programming and watch TV only when you really want to. However, our figures show that the Swiss still sit in front of the TV at the same times—regardless of whether they’re watching live or on-demand. We can hardly detect a shift in TV viewing to other times of the day.MK Mediapulse's figures show that time-shifted TV viewing has increased. In the first quarter, it accounted for 16.2 percent of the target audience aged 3 and older. What is the reason for this trend?MARR The main reason is the increased availability of TV content. In Switzerland, the technical options for watching TV on a delayed basis are handled very liberally.MK What does this mean for TV advertising?MARR Time-shifted TV viewing has created a new way to avoid commercials by fast-forwarding through them. However, it has always been possible to avoid TV commercials, whether by changing the channel or by walking away from the TV.MK The Swiss have long since stopped watching TV exclusively on their TV sets; they now watch it on smartphones and tablets, for example. What challenges does this pose for TV research?MARR There is fragmentation, not only among devices but also among distribution channels. In the past, people would sit in front of the TV as if gathered around a campfire. While the lion’s share of viewing still takes place on the big screen, what happens alongside it is as diverse as the world itself.TV research has never been able to fully capture TV usage. We can only report on what we can measure reliably. The challenge is to identify emerging measurement gaps and capture them using appropriate methods, as was done, for example, with time-shifted TV viewing.MK So far, Mediapulse has only tracked TV viewing on traditional television sets, but not viewing on smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Could this be the next measurement gap that needs to be closed?MARR There are several indications pointing in that direction. Over the past year, we’ve been testing what percentage of TV viewing takes place on smaller screens. This accounts for about four to five percent of total viewing, which is in line with figures from other countries. In Switzerland in particular, TV viewing via services such as Zattoo, Wilmaa, Teleboy, and Swisscom TV Air is significant. In the future, we’ll need to be able to track viewing on small screens as well—regardless of where it takes place. This will require new methodological approaches.MK Despite all these difficulties, TV viewership figures are considered the «hardest» currency in the advertising industry. Why?MARR The advertiser wants not only gross figures but also net figures at the campaign level. This means they want to know as precisely as possible how many people in a specific target audience they have reached. For example, if someone sells cat food, they naturally want their advertising to reach cat owners. Unlike with other metrics, we can reliably report this net reach for a campaign.MK How often do Swiss people use a second device, such as a smartphone or a laptop, while watching TV?MARR This behavior is quite widespread, but it says little about the extent of second-screen use. Initial estimates based on time-use surveys—such as those conducted by Mediapulse—suggest that between 82 and 95 percent of TV viewing is done exclusively.MK What other trends do you see in TV viewing?MARR Video-on-demand services like Netflix, which make content available to subscribers via streaming, have certainly grown in importance. However, our figures show that TV sets are still used primarily for traditional broadcast TV. The share of non-TV viewing is around 10 percent and is growing only slightly. That said, we don’t know how much Netflix is watched on smaller devices.