Video-on-demand viewing swells with biggest audiences from connected TV, Screen Australia report shows
Australians are not only watching more video-on-demand than ever before, but they are watching the majority of it through connected television, new findings from Screen Australia show.
The 2017 Online and On Demand Report, based on research conducted by Nielsen, indicated massive growth in use of streaming services, as well as a reduction in piracy.
Screen Australia’s latest report is based on an online survey of 1,683 consumers over the age of 14. It compares the results to the previous study, conducted in 2014. Since 2014, service such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Stan have grown their presence in the Australian market.
The latest report shows 68% of 2017 respondents use subscription video-on-demand, compared to 37% in 2014, while broadcast catch-up services increased to 84%, from 74% in 2014.
Broadcast catch-up is still the most-used video-on-demand platform
The findings show Australians are less likely to watch video-on-demand through their laptops, with the majority reporting they watched programs through connected TV – up to 65% from 49% in 2014. Laptops fell seven percentage points to 60%, while smartphone usage climbed from 10% to 25%.
The report supports comments from Nine’s digital sales boss Pippa Leary several weeks ago, who said the year of CTV has become “even bigger” than expected.
Of Australia’s video-on-demand services, YouTube remains the market leader, with 64% using the platform daily/weekly/monthly. That’s followed by Netflix, with 51% of respondents using the service regularly.
When looking at the free-to-air networks’ digital properties, Plus 7 – which recently rebranded to 7Plus – was the most-popular video-on-demand services, swelling to 47% from 28% in 2014. ABC iview and Tenplay were both reported to be watched regularly by 45%. Meanwhile, 43% reported using 9Now regularly.
The most used VOD services in 2017 (Click to enlarge)
Although broadcaster catch-up is the most-used video-on-demand platform overall, only 20% of respondents use the platform regularly, compared to 39% watching subscription video-on-demand and 50% using services such as YouTube and Facebook.
The above results have also had an impact on piracy, with changes in the landscape reducing the illegal downloading and streaming of content. Just 17% of video-on-demand users indicated they watched screen content via pirated and illegal services, a significant reduction from 43% in 2014.
According to the report, the demographic that watches the most illegal content is the 18-24s, at 28%.
Fiona Cameron, chief operating officer at Screen Australia, said while free-to-air television remains “king”, other platforms have seen incredible audience growth.
“The report also confirms that younger Australians are frequent users of new content platforms, including social media outlets like Facebook to access video,” Cameron added.
“The speed of change in our industry is not going to slow down, so undoubtedly there is pressure on producers to stay abreast of where their audience is, and for regulators to form policy that meets the market.
“For Screen Australia, the findings show that Australian content is still immensely popular, and when you have platforms like broadcaster catch-up services housing a lot of local content, they’re rewarded with viewership.”
Sadly, that is not a statistically relevant sample size.
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