Advertising acceptance in Connected TV is increasing
This marks the fourth time Goldbach has conducted the Advanced TV Study (formerly the Smart TV Study) in the DACH region. Connected TV has now established itself as a complementary offering to traditional TV, primarily due to its ease and flexibility of use as well as its diverse content offerings. The latest study also shows that younger target groups are increasingly using apps and VOD services, and that acceptance of advertising is growing significantly.
According to the study, the Connected TV has long since conquered its place in the living room. 74 percent of all households have at least one Internet-enabled device. It is particularly interesting to note that the number of Internet-connected second devices in the household has risen by 43 percent compared to the previous year. 70 percent of 16- to 49-year-olds use connected TV, half of them even regularly.
Today, 71 percent of all respondents most frequently use Internet-enabled additional functions directly via smart TV devices. 20 percent use a streaming box, 22 percent a streaming stick and 30 percent a game console. These figures are even higher among 30 to 49-year-olds. In this target group, 76 percent of respondents use a smart TV, 24 percent use a streaming stick, 27 percent use a streaming box and 35 percent use a game console. Only among 16- to 29-year-olds is the use of consoles even higher, at 39 percent. Unlike online, Connected TV, like traditional linear TV, is a one-to-many medium. On average, 2.3 people sit together in front of the big screen. Average usage time has risen by 30 minutes year-on-year to 2.5 hours.
What content is being consumed?
The use of HbbTV/RedButton content remains stable at a high level (62 percent). Use of apps and VOD functions has increased by an average of 8% compared to the previous year. 87 percent of respondents use these, 62 percent even regularly. The young target group in particular stands out here: 93 percent of 16 to 29-year-olds use apps/VOD, 73 percent regularly. Streaming/VOD apps are used particularly frequently (84 percent), followed by TV apps (46 percent), music apps (27 percent) and sports apps (23 percent). Easy access to more content and more flexible viewing options are cited by all target groups as explanations for the strong frequency.
Acceptance of advertising on the rise
Connected TV users use an average of 2.5 paid apps and 3 free apps. They spend between EUR 10 and EUR 29 per month. Two-thirds of users of paid apps would accept advertising if the content were free. 42 percent of Connected TV users are aware of advertising in the Connected TV environment. In particular, those under 50 and male users have a higher awareness of advertising. 50 percent of 30 to 49-year-olds find advertising perfectly acceptable, and 44 percent of 30 to 69-year-olds even find it helpful.
"Connected TVs continue to be on the road to success. Usage continues to rise and the new generation of TVs are virtually eliminating the barriers to entry into the enhanced TV experience," comments Michael Baum, Director DACH at Goldbach, on the study results. "In no other segment of moving image media will there be more new VoD offerings in the coming years. The beneficiaries will be users, who will be able to consume TV content in an even more individual and specialized way, and advertisers, who will also be able to exploit this development for themselves."
For the current Goldbach DACH study on the use of Connected TV 3500 people aged 16 to 69 in the DACH region were surveyed online in January and February 2021, 1500 of them in Germany and 1000 each in Austria and Switzerland. The current study was expanded to include Connected TV, which means that comparability with the results of previous years is only possible to a limited extent.
