Audience prefers to watch programs online rather than on TV
The average media consumer spends about 20 hours a week accessing digital content on computers, smartphones, or other mobile devices. Most of this content consists of TV shows, videos, and movies.
This is according to the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Cable operators and TV providers can no longer keep up with the wealth of online offerings. The public prefers to watch videos on demand on their PC.
Users spend an average of 12.4 hours a week watching TV shows, films and videos online. This compares to only 8.9 hours of usage of the same content on cable and TV stations. According to US media, even older users between the ages of 45 and 59 invest almost the same amount of time in the two channels, with 8.3 hours compared to nine hours.
According to the British marketing agency Digital Clarity, younger consumers in particular also like to use social networks while watching traditional television. This means that around 80% are online via cell phone even while watching TV. According to PwC, only just under 13% of consumers make use of video-on-demand via cable operators. The usually high costs play a major role here. In contrast, more than 30% use free streaming services such as Hulu to watch videos. However, paid online movie rentals are already more popular than the cable companies' offerings.
