ADVANCED TELEVISION

89% of viewing still on TV

November 2, 2016

The juggernaut of mobile phone use is changing the viewing dynamic, but not in the way most assume, according to the Video Advertising Bureau’s (VAB) latest State of Digial Video report. Viewers continue to leave the desktop for smartphones in droves as they take advantage of more on-demand options, while viewing on enabled smart TVs and multimedia devices grows significantly.

Still, 89 per cent of viewing is on TV with 8 out of 10 minutes being with Live TV; and time watching TVs beats time watching on smartphones 9 to 1 (desktop time also beats smartphones, 7 to 1). What isn’t changing is what they’re watching – predominantly TV shows.

“Of all the emerging platforms, enabled smart TVs are growing the fastest,” said Evelyn Skurkovich, VP/strategic research and insights at the Video Advertising Bureau and author of its State of Digital Video report. “This reinforces the fact that people dedicate the most attention to TV content, and to watching on a TV screen.”

Through June this year, smartphone use was up 9 per cent over the same period last year, while SVoD increased 18 per cent. Multimedia device use bumped 23 per cent, and enabled smart TV use climbed 33 per cent.

Interestingly, gaming consoles are winning over 25- to 64-year-old viewers the fastest, with growth averaging 15 per cent for over-25s vs flat for under-25s.