European TV-Watching Shifts to On-Demand Streamed Content
While the amount of TV Europeans watch is staying the same, how they get that TV is changing. According to a report from London-based marketing research company IHS Markit on-demand viewing is on the rise while traditional viewing is falling.
IHS Market studied viewing trends in the five largest European markets—the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, and Spain—and found linear TV viewing declined in all of them in 2017. Also down is the use of digital video recorders (DVRs) for time-shifted viewing.
The reason for their decline is that Europeans are streaming a lot more of their programs. Europeans averaged an additional two hours of streaming every month compared to 2016. Audiences average 10 minutes per person per day streaming short-form video (up to 15 minutes long) and 8 minutes on long-form video (over 15 minutes). Netflix, Hulu, and other subscription services are especially popular with younger viewers.
Surprisingly, the overall amount of video people watch hasn’t changed much, holding at around 247 minutes per person per day for the last 6 years.
Of the five markets studied, the U.K. leads in shifting viewing to online sources. IHS warns that pay TV operators need to embrace OTT services now if they want to retain their positions in the market. The full report, "Cross-Platform Television Viewing Time 2017," is available for purchase.
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