Advanced Television

20% viewer time on streaming content

April 4, 2014

According to a Horowitz Associates study, TV content viewers say they spend two in ten (20 per cent) viewing hours streaming content, compared to 13 per cent in 2013. This change has been driven by an increase in streaming directly to the TV set—a trend that Horowitz hypothesises will impact viewers’ relationships to TV providers and network brands.

Today, nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of TV content viewers either own a Smart TV or have the capability to stream content to their TV through another device.  One-third (31 per cent) of study respondents say they spend at least some TV viewing time streaming broadband content to the TV set; those who do stream to the TV spend a full 30 per cent of their viewing time doing so.

Streaming to the TV is becoming the “new normal” for accessing broadband-delivered content.  In 2013, TV viewers reported spending 5 per cent of their viewing time on the computer, 3 per cent on a mobile device, and 5 per cent streaming content to the TV. In 2014, computer and mobile device numbers stayed relatively flat, while the per cent of time spent streaming content to the TV set doubled.

“The fragmentation of viewing in the age of digital media is not a new conversation.  But OTT boxes, gaming consoles, Blu-Ray players, and now, devices like Google Chromecast are taking the conversation to the next level,” asserts Adriana Waterston, Horowitz’ SVP, Marketing and Business Development.

“Companies like Google, Netflix, and HBO have focused their energies on delivering a seamless experience to the TV and consumers are responding. Before, the ‘lean-back’ TV experience almost always implied broadcast or cable viewing; today, it is becoming more commonplace for some other platform or provider to deliver that lean-back TV experience. We can no longer assume we know what people mean when they say they are ‘watching TV’.”

Categories: Articles, Connected TV, Consumer Behaviour, IPTV, OTT, OTT, Research