Screenforce study: TV is needed for successful advertising in the video cosmos

The current study "The World of Screens" by the TV genre initiative Screenforce Switzerland shows which screens and channels people in Switzerland use to consume video content.

(Graphics: Screenforce Switzerland/GfK)

In this year's Screenforce study "The World of Screens", Screenforce Switzerland teamed up with market research institute GfK Switzerland to investigate which moving image content people in Switzerland consume on which channels and screens and to what extent device usage is changing. Advertising recall and advertising perception were also surveyed. Screenforce presented the results for the first time on Tuesday as part of Screenforce Day 2024 (Werbewoche.ch reported).

TV the most important channel, TV sets and cell phones the most popular devices

Among other things, the survey asked which media channels are used for the moving image content "news", "feature films", "series", "sport", "entertainment" and "knowledge". For all content, respondents cited TV - live or time-shifted - as their most important channel. According to the study, TV is clearly ahead of social media, YouTube and video streaming for most content.

Unsurprisingly, the big screen, i.e. the TV set, is still the most frequently used device for all TV content. Just behind the big screen and with an upward trend is the cell phone, which is used most for TV content from the "news" area. Video streaming also shows a similar distribution of device usage, albeit at a lower level. Here too, the TV set is considered more important than the cell phone by the study participants overall.

The situation is different for YouTube content, where the cell phone is the most relevant for all content. The medium-sized screens of tablets, laptops and desktops play a subordinate role for all content.

Young people also consume TV content on the small screen

Screenforce paid particular attention to device usage for TV content in the study. To this end, the three target groups 15-29 years, 30-49 years and 50+ years were examined in detail. Unsurprisingly, the young target group in particular is increasingly consuming TV content on their cell phones - in the case of "news", "entertainment" and "knowledge" content even more than on their TV sets. Cell phones are also becoming increasingly popular among the middle target group, although it is only for "news" that more people watch on their cell phones than on their TV sets. In the 50+ age category, there is no serious competition to the TV set.

Advertising on TV is remembered and is best received

In order to determine advertising recall on the individual channels, the study participants were asked to indicate on which channel they remembered an advertisement from their favorite brand. More than a third indicated live TV. Together with time-shifted TV and TV streaming, the TV offerings achieved an advertising recall of 60 percent.

In terms of screens, as with importance and usage, TVs and cell phones are also well ahead of medium-sized screens in terms of advertising recall.

Finally, Screenforce wanted to know how advertising on the individual channels scored in terms of authenticity, trustworthiness, quality, likeability, credibility and emotionality. According to the study, the verdict here is also clear: TV advertising is best received in all aspects.


Together with the market research institute GfK Switzerland, the TV genre initiative Screenforce Switzerland conducted a representative online survey of 1501 people aged 15-74 in German-speaking (1002 people) and French-speaking (499 people) Switzerland. The surveys took place from April 3 to 17, 2024.

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