Prime time TV viewing habits are changing, audiences fragmenting
With more screens, platforms and channel choices than ever before, the way in which Australians engage with broadcast television is continuing to evolve – but it’s during the peak viewing hours that the trends away from live TV are most prominent.
The time Australian TV viewing audiences are spending watching broadcast television in Q3 2016 compared with the same time last year.
The latest edition of Australia’s multi-screen report for July to September shows ‘traditional’ television viewing habits remain dominant, but the “seemingly infinite” number of devices and program options is fragmenting audiences.
“The gradual decline in time spent viewing live and playback TV over the past five years follows the spreading behaviour that screen, content and platform choice enable. Even so, all age groups spend more of their video viewing time watching broadcast TV on television sets than they do on any other single device,” the report said.
Changes in viewing behaviour are most notable during prime time, according to the report, which found the TV is increasingly being used for “other purposes” beyond just broadcast television during these hours.
“Successive issues of the multi-screen report have shown changes in viewing behaviour are most pronounced in prime time. This makes sense, as people generally have the most available time to view in the evenings,” the report said.
Australians are increasingly using this time for eight to 28-day playback, rather than engaging with traditional broadcast television. The report found that over a month, 14 hours and 13 minutes of prime time viewing is now being spent watching playback.
“The growth in such activity contributes to the gradual decline seen in live and playback to 7 TV viewing (i.e. playback within 7 days of broadcast) over the past several years. Year-on-year total TV screen use was down by 24 minutes, on average, per month across the day, and by 1:58 in prime time, impacted by the decline in broadcast viewing,” the report said.
How Australians in different age groups are engaging with their television sets, according to the Multi-screen report
Despite audience fragmentation and the ongoing shift away from traditional TV viewing habits during its most lucrative hours, OzTAM CEO, Doug Peiffer, remained positive about TV’s dominance.
“The number of connected screens in Australian homes is at an all-time high, and Australians are taking advantage of the opportunities this creates to watch broadcast content and other video.
Peiffer: “The number of connected screens in Australian homes is at an all-time high”
“While this choice contributes to the viewing ‘spread’ we’ve observed for some time, all age groups still spend more of their viewing time on any single device watching broadcast TV on in-home TV sets. Across the population that equates to more than 86% of total viewing – including all devices, platforms and video content.”
Nielsen’s managing director media for Asia Pacific, Craig Johnson, said viewers are taking control of their viewing habits – something which the industry would do well to keep an eye on.
“Today consumers have more control than ever before and are without a doubt leveraging that autonomy.
“The growing penetration of connected devices and increasing popularity of subscription-based streaming services, time-shifted and over-the-top viewing is fundamentally changing the TV industry.
“The ability to measure and report on all content across all devices – such as expanding the ‘long tail’ out to 28 days – provides the industry with further, critical insights on how viewers are using technology to control their own viewing experiences,” he said.
more screens but does anyone know who’s watching what?
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Been doing playback during prime and other time for many years, thanks Foxtel. There’s nothing like being able to run commercials through at 30 x speed. Even playback top rating shows on the night they are screened, just have to start watching a little later.
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60x (on Foxtel IQ3) is even better. Count to six (= 360 seconds), hit play again and you’re almost exactly at the first scene after the ad break. And yes, wait 15 minutes and you can do the same with all shows. If the advertisers insist on insulting us (as more and more of them do), we no longer have to suffer them.
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