Digital video gains, TV dominates
How is video consumption—the so-called “viewing landscape”—changing? This is a question many marketing professionals are asking themselves, particularly in light of new streaming services such as Netflix. To better assess potential trends and developments, it’s often helpful to look at other countries.
This article therefore shows the findings of the current "Cross-Platform Report" from the USA and the Australian Online and On Demand Study, both of which are based on data from the market research company Nielsen.
The American study paints an interesting picture that is characterized by three key factors. Firstly, it confirms once again that consumers are spending more and more time with electronic media. US adults now use electronic media for an average of 10 hours and 47 minutes a day. Compared to the previous year, the daily media usage time has thus increased by 21 minutes and even by 36 minutes compared to 2012. Secondly, the figures from the USA document that digital video usage - i.e. image consumption via PC/laptop, smartphone or tablet - is increasing significantly. 18 to 34-year-olds now spend an average of 35 minutes a day on digital video, compared to 23 minutes in the previous year (+53%) and just 19 minutes in 2012. However, digital video is also on the rise in other age cohorts. Two years ago, 35- to 49-year-olds only spent an average of 13 minutes a day with such content, in 2013 it was 14 minutes, today the usage time is 26 minutes (+80% compared to the previous year).
Even the slightly older generation of 50 to 64-year-olds, who are generally said to have a lower digital affinity, are increasingly using digital video. Their consumption has risen from 9 minutes in 2012 to 11 minutes in 2013 and now 19 minutes (+60%). Thirdly, it is interesting in this context that the consumption of TV content on the TV set (live and time-shifted) continues to be very stable and remains dominant in absolute terms. Although TV usage among 18 to 34-year-olds has fallen slightly by 5 minutes a day compared to the previous year (-2%), at an average of 4 hours and 17 minutes it is still 7.3 times higher than digital video usage. Among 35 to 49-year-olds, this ratio is even 11.4 (4 hours and 57 minutes of TV per day, -1% compared to 2013). At 6 hours and 12 minutes a day on average (-2%), 50 to 64-year-olds watch TV for almost 20 times as long as they use digital video.
An overall picture that is confirmed by the data from Down Under. According to the online and on-demand study, 50 percent of Australian online users now use the internet to watch TV content, which is 7 percent more than in 2012. However, consumers still tend to use the corresponding services occasionally and in addition to traditional TV. Only 5% of users watch missed TV programs online every day, while a further 14% use catch-up TV a few times a week. Even those Australian consumers who use internet-based services to watch television watch conventional TV for significantly longer. On average, their live TV consumption is 11.6 hours per week, which is 4.5 times longer than the time spent with video-on-demand offerings (2.6 hours per week, including catch-up TV).
Clemens Koob
Key Facts
- Consumers are spending more and more time with the
electronic media. The daily usage time is
10h:47m (+21m compared to 2013/USA).
- Digital video usage is clearly on the rise. Among 18 to 34-year-olds
is 35m per day (+53% compared to 2013), for the 35 to
49-year-olds at 26m (+80%), and among 50- to 64-year-olds
at 19m (+60% / all USA).
- TV usage on the TV set is very stable and dominates
