Every year Eurodata TV Worldwide produces its annual One TV Year (OTVY) report, which in one single document rolls out the TV and digital roadmap for the past year, measuring TV consumption, as well as spotlighting tech trends. Today, people may be buying fewer TV screens, but what they are buying is the highest possible quality. More 4K screens were sold in 2015, a trend which is going to be confirmed in 2016. The development of 4K programming not only means more screen sales, but also the promise of more 4K channels (and we will be showing these new 4K channel launches that are scheduled in our MIPTV conference this Monday).
But if TV screen sales are dipping, more devices than ever are being purchased, with mobiles soaring. This new consumption mode means that to get a correct picture of what is being watched, new means of tracking are being developed. Increasingly, data tracking companies throughout the world are measuring both Time Shifted and Catch Up content. Last year 31 countries had established measurements for Time Shifted programming versus 26 in 2014, an increase of 5 countries. For catch up measurements, we are seeing an increase too, and in 2015, 21 countries were measuring versus 19 in 2014. And progress is still being made in 2016, with 7 countries planning to measure TV on 4 screens.
So time shifted, live and catch up programme are now contributing significantly to Average Viewing Time (AVT) figures. In the 25 studied countries which provided both live and consolidated AVT, time shifting brings an additional 7% average viewing time. Time-shifted viewing brings 16% additional viewing times to live ratings for both fiction and entertainment, an average for the UK, USA, France, Netherlands. Online viewing is also growing, with online streaming champion Sweden averaging a 25% increase on the weekly number of streams between February 2015 and February 2016.
So viewers are watching more TV content and on all sorts of devices, but what are they watching and what are the new trends? A very good question, to be answered at MIPTV on Monday (click for session details), with all the key facts and figures to have at your fingertips before starting your show.
Top photo: Monkey Business Images, via Shutterstock
