ONE SCREEN IS NOT ENOUGH

At the end of 2016, two research organizations published their reports on television industry tendencies. Ericsson ConsumerLab and Streaming Video Alliance studied TV audiences all around the world and independently came to the same conclusion: mobile devices are becoming equal competitors with traditional televisions and are fueling the changes in viewers’ preferences.

Modern-Day Television Viewers: Who are They?

Based on the survey by Ericsson ConsumerLab survey, a few key types of viewers can be identified:
– TV zero: spends minimal time watching TV;
– Average TV Joe: spends an average amount of time watching TV and a limited amount of time viewing other types of content;
– Mobility Centric: prefers a mobile screen for TV/Video consumption;
– Computer Centric: prefers a computer screen for streamed or downloaded content viewing;
– Screen Shifter: uses any screen any place any time to watch all types of content;
– TV Couch Traditionalist: watches traditional TV on a traditional TV screen.

After 7 years of analysis, the number of Mobile Centrics and Screen Shifters has increased substantially at the expense of TV Couch Traditionalists.

Dynamics of TV user groups

Comparing the socio-demographic profile of TV Couch Traditionalists and Screen Shifters, we note that TV Coach Traditionalists are typically 34+ years old married women who live in small towns, lack higher education, work part-time and are involved in raising children. On average, they spend 35 hours a week watching TV.

In contrast, Screen Shifters are typically middle-aged married men with children, higher education and a full time job who live in large or capital cities. They spend about the same amount of time as TV Couch Traditionalists watching stationary TV, but they also like watching video content on other devices, raising the average amount of time they spend per week watching videos to 62 hours.

Another classification system for TV viewers has been proposed by Streaming Video Alliance. They divided users by age into two categories: millennials (18-34 years), who are the driving force of modern TV technology progress, and others (35+ years).

Millennials are the driving force of modern TV technology progress.

Analysis of the world’s population has shown that millennials spend more time watching video than the older population, and half of this video is content on demand. Linear TV is losing popularity among millennials, giving way to short user-generated content.

Older people prefer the traditional TV. They are used to watching certain shows on certain channels, and it is difficult for them to give up their habits despite all the opportunities offered by service providers and operators.

Increasingly, the viewers’ desire to form their own video playlist fuels linear television rejection. For example, an average American devotes 23 minute per day to searching for appropriate video content. In general, a person spends 1.3 years of his life switching channels and looking for interesting content.

According to Ericsson ConsumerLab, an average viewer spends up to 45% more time choosing video-on-demand (VOD) content than video on a standard TV. The amount of time people spend searching for video comprises up to 30% of the time spent watching it, and yet, this apparent waste of time does not affect viewer satisfaction: 63% of viewers are satisfied with VOD services. In contrast, only 51% of respondents are satisfied with linear TV content. Searching for VOD is time-consuming, but it allows viewers to watch something that is interesting to them at a convenient time.

The pace of today’s life shifts consumption patterns to short videos. Since 2010 the rate of short clip viewing has increased by 86%, and the total amount of time spent viewing VOD (TV shows, movies and series) has increased by 50%. Viewers spend three times more data viewing videos from external servers than downloaded videos.

Difference in content preferences of millennials and people aged 35+

YouTube vs linear TV

The role of YouTube as a content-sharing platform is growing. Over the last 5 years, the percentage of users who watch YouTube more than 3 hours per week has increased three-fold (from 3% to 10%), and the number of individuals who have never watched it decreased from 12% to 8%. In addition, despite the rising number of OTT providers, YouTube is still the main source of video content for mobile devices. However, the development of multiscreen technology may change the media environment in the future.

Nowadays millennials spend 2.5 hours more watching short clips and 4 hours less viewing linear TV or live broadcasts than people aged 35-69.
Streaming Video Alliance research in the United States has also shown that when it comes to watching video on mobile devices, users prefer YouTube. In second place are social networks. 

Streaming Video Alliance research in the United States has also shown that when it comes to watching video on mobile devices, users prefer YouTube. In second place are social networks.

Answers to the question “What resources do you use for watching videos on your smartphone?”