How the Corona Crisis and U.S. Elections Affect TV Viewing Behavior

The coronavirus crisis has significantly changed media usage. Swiss Zattoo users are spending more and more time watching television this year, especially on the big screen. The US elections in particular were followed with great interest. This is shown by an analysis of Zattoo user data for March and November of this year.

Television use is increasing, especially on large screens

In March, during the lockdown, Zattoo users were already streaming more and more hours a day according to the streaming provider in Switzerland. This trend continued in November. The number of hours streamed via Zattoo remains at a consistently high level and increased by a further 4% in November compared to March. Swiss Zattoo users are not only watching more television over the course of the year, but also and above all on the big screen.

While usage on mobile devices and the web decreased slightly, the proportion of hours streamed on connected TVs rose by 12% from March to November. This trend is particularly evident among users of the ad-financed Zattoo Free service. Here, 36% more hours are streamed on the big screen than in March.

Information programs and series heavily used

The coronavirus crisis has also led to significant shifts in the TV interests of Swiss Zattoo users this year. While there was already a sharp increase in information programs in March during the lockdown, their share of total hours watched increased even further in November. This amounted to 27% in November, an increase of a further 5 percentage points compared to March. The share of series in total usage also rose by 5 percentage points in November. In contrast, entertainment formats and films were watched less, losing 2 percentage points each.

The growing proportion of information programs is also reflected in the user data relating to this year's US election. The US television channel CNN in particular was used significantly more frequently than in the same month in March. The number of hours of CNN watched by Zattoo subscribers and users of the Zattoo Free Service increased by over 350 percent.

The fact that the election result remained unclear for some time after election day is also reflected in the average hours watched on CNN. While CNN viewers on Zattoo streamed the TV channel for an average of 3 hours per month in November 2016, this November it was 9 hours. In 2016, the result was announced on election night; this year, the race was open for longer in key states.

"Zattoo's usage time remains at a consistently high level throughout the year. In particular, the number of hours streamed on connected TVs has increased significantly. The purchase of new devices in recent months, especially smart TVs, will have favored this development," says Jörg Meyer, Chief Officer Content and Consumer at Zattoo. "The fact that Zattoo users followed the US election with great interest is not only reflected in the monthly hours streamed on CNN, but also in the growing share of information programs in overall usage."