Thinkbox: why live TV and VOD co-exist
A study by Thinkbox into how people watch TV has revealed some key differences between watching TV live and on demand, and between different types of VOD.
The study – ‘Screen Life: TV in demand’ – was commissioned by Thinkbox from Flamingo and Tapestry and involved the analysis of over 100 hours of footage from 18 households across the UK for two weeks. It also involved a diary study of 662 adults across almost 3,700 viewing occasions providing 250,000 data points for analysis.
The study identified six core reasons why people watch TV – particularly live TV, which according to the research, the nation watches 90% of the time. These reasons were to unwind, for comfort, to connect, to experience, to escape and to indulge – with different types of TV viewing meeting different needs.
VOD, for example, was found to be good for ‘indulging’ and ‘escaping’, but not so much for social needs such as to ‘unwind’ and ‘seek comfort’. Indeed, 54% of live TV viewing is done with someone else, compared to 30% for VOD.
Among the heavier VOD viewers in the research sample, 60% typically checked what was on the live TV schedule first before considering other options.
‘Connecting’ was found to be the most important reason to watch TV for 18-24s, with 28% of their viewing meeting this need – almost double the average from the research sample (15%).
When given a choice between having the option to download a new series they liked in one go or waiting to watch it week by week on live TV, 73% of 18-24s in the research sample said they preferred to watch it week by week – significantly higher than the 57% of 35-55s.
Live TV is almost exclusively watched on a TV set, however in the study’s VOD-viewing sample, VOD was split across different screens: 37% was watched on the TV set; 45% on a PC; 14% on a tablet; and 4% on a smartphone.
“This research gets to the heart of why we watch TV and explains the apparent conundrum of why people choose to watch so much live TV when they don’t have to,” said Neil Mortensen, research and planning director, Thinkbox.
“It shows that VOD is a brilliant and treasured new way to enjoy TV, but it can’t give people everything they demand from TV – particularly the highly valued social elements. Live TV is best equipped to meet all of the needs and that is why it will endure, no matter what new platforms emerge. Live TV is our daily food whereas VOD is more like a box of chocolates.”