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CTV adoption highest among UK viewers, says Magnite

CTV adoption highest among UK viewers, says Magnite

Almost seven out of every 10 UK consumers prefer streaming services to broadcast linear TV, according to a report by Magnite.

CTV: The Future Forward surveyed 10,500 consumers across the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy to identify how audiences are consuming television and to explore the opportunities for marketers.

According to the report, the UK leads in terms of Connected TV (CTV) adoption with 69% preferring it over linear channels.

Among the five countries surveyed, nearly nine in ten (89%) UK respondents reported using a streaming service at least once a week and three-fifths (61%) watched daily.

UK viewers tune into subscription (SVOD) and ad-supported (AVOD) streaming services almost equally, showing that advertising is not a barrier to adoption, with three-quarters watching SVOD (75%) and AVOD (74%) weekly.

In fact, over six in ten (63%) UK consumers are receptive to CTV advertising, especially those ads relevant to the show they are watching (77%), relevant to hobbies or interests (75%), or related to online searches (58%).

Almost eight in ten (78%) respondents have taken an action after exposure to a CTV ad, including online searches and purchasing an advertised product or service, signalling the major potential of CTV to deliver on campaign goals.

Julie Selman, UK managing director at Magnite said: “The research demonstrates a significant change in consumer behaviour, with more than half (54%) of UK viewers watching more CTV content now versus a year ago. This acceleration in CTV adoption creates a huge opportunity for advertisers to use the power of CTV to connect with consumers, and reach people where they are enjoying content they love.

“Our latest research shows that CTV is more than a brand-building opportunity for advertisers and that CTV exposure leads audiences to take concrete actions. Two-fifths (39%) of viewers recognise that addressable ads are the future of TV advertising.

“As more marketers learn to harness the addressability opportunities that are available through streaming TV, I am confident we will see TV emerge as a premium, brand-safe, performance marketing channel.”

MattHill, Research & Planning Director, Thinkbox, on 03 Mar 2021
“This is interesting research by Magnite, but not entirely surprising.

It’s partly an image thing: streaming TV is still emerging and exciting, its growth grabs headlines, it’s winning mental availability by the bucketload.

But it’s also a no brainer: do you want the freedom to choose what you want whenever you want it, or not? Weird that 30% said they’d prefer not.

But it’s always interesting to juxtapose what people do with what they say they’d do.

The data for 2020 (https://www.thinkbox.tv/news-and-opinion/opinion/how-did-2020-change-the-video-world/) tells us that broadcast linear TV accounted for 58% of the video people watched in the UK. Streaming (broadcaster VOD services + subscription VODs) was 17%.

AVOD streaming services other than the broadcasters' and YouTube are still so small that they can’t be meaningfully measured – and the UK is a very advanced market for streaming services.

The happy truth, though, is that people don’t have to choose between streaming and linear – we can have and do have both. Because the truth is that, judged by our actions, we want both (as acknowledged by the return of BBC3 as a linear channel). We watch them for different reasons that may not always spring to mind when we’re forced to choose in a survey. Live, linear TV meets the social, communal instincts of viewers in a way that on demand does not. Hence their coexistence.”

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