AGF annual review: The German television year in figures
At the start of the year, the Television Research Association takes stock of the 2024 TV year in Germany. It finds that traditional linear TV still boasts high usage shares and reach.
The year 2024 set a new benchmark in the evaluation of linear TV usage in Germany. With the introduction of the moving image market standard on January 1, 2024, the usage data of traditional television and the 24/7 live streams of streaming platforms were merged into a common standard with a 1:1 correspondence to linear broadcasting for the first time. This new TV standard reflects the changing viewing habits of viewers and enables a more comprehensive analysis of TV consumption, including via the streaming platforms under AGF measurement. In contrast to the TV market standard, which is valid until the end of 2023, the moving image standard is based on an expanded population and also integrates those households that do not own a TV set but do own a device that enables video usage.
171 minutes daily
Due to the different population definitions and performance attributions, direct comparisons of the two standards with the previous year are not useful and require a reconciliation. In 2024, 58.9% of viewers aged 3 and over, or 46.086 million viewers, tuned in daily for a wide range of formats from the program providers in the leading market standard video. Looking only at people in TV households (market standard TV), this figure is 61.4% for 2024, meaning that if the same population is selected for 2024 compared to 2023 (61.5%), there is only a minimal decline of 0.1 percentage points.
In 2024, daily TV viewing among people aged 3 and over averaged 171 minutes in the video standard and 176 minutes in the market standard, resulting in a decrease of 6 minutes for the overall audience compared to the previous year (182 minutes) on the same basis. Among 14 to 49-year-olds, the average viewing time for the market standard video was 79 minutes, while the market standard TV was 83 minutes (2023: 87 minutes). Although the figures are thus lower than in the previous year, the choice of population shows a clear methodological effect that cannot be equated with a market effect.
"The video market has continued to develop very dynamically in 2024 and a large number of new offerings have emerged. Despite the oversupply of media and the ongoing fragmentation, traditional linear TV can still achieve impressive usage shares and reach. The year 2024 was a brilliant year for sport, which was also characterized by political changes and economic challenges at home and abroad. The relevance of these events is clearly reflected in the
This reflects viewer interest," explains Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf, Chairwoman of Business Research at AGF Videoforschung.
Upward trend in streaming
In general, 2024 also confirmed the continuous upward trend of streaming services measured by AGF. While linear television continues to play a strong role in the media landscape despite a slight decline in usage, the growing importance of streaming services is reflected in the changing usage habits of viewers. Last year, a total of 67.727 million viewers had at least one contact with a streaming service from publishers under active AGF measurement. This corresponds to a share of 86.5% and represents an increase of 5.2% compared to the previous year. The average viewing time also increased by 36.5% compared to the previous year and averaged 7 minutes per day in 2024 (2023: 5 minutes). Among 14 to 49-year-olds, the average viewing time increased from 5 to 8 minutes, which corresponds to an increase of 51.6%.
