Over half of viewing time on Samsung TVs in the UK by the end of 2020 was spent streaming, according to a new report by Samsung Ads.
Decoding the on-demand TV landscape predicts that streaming is now strongly positioned to lead total TV viewership time, after 56% of time spent with a Samsung TV was spent watching video on demand (VOD).
The average UK daily viewing time spent watching streamed content on Samsung TVs increased by 62% to three hours and five minutes during 2020, compared with a daily average of two hours and 24 minutes for linear television (+58%).
Across the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy combined, time spent streaming on more than 46 million Samsung Smart TVs increased by 61% to two hours and 53 minutes per day. By comparison, time spent watching linear TV rose by 34% to two hours and 30 minutes.
Subscription on demand (SVOD)’s share of streaming hours per Samsung TV in the UK grew from 54% in January 2020 to 55% by the end of December. This accounted for two hours and seven minutes spent streaming SVOD per Samsung TV daily.
Ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) meanwhile grew faster than other VOD platforms – up from 23% in January 2020 to 29% by the end of the year. This accounted for an average daily UK usage of one hour and 17 minutes, compared with 48 minutes in January last year.
Broadcaster video on demand (BVOD)’s share of Samsung TV viewership was 14% of streaming hours in December 2020, down from 19% in January. Despite the fall, 39% of UK-based Samsung TVs watched BVOD content such as BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub in December 2020, although SVOD’s reach was greater at 84% for the final month of last year.
The report further identifies a growing set of viewers who consume no linear content at all on their Samsung TV. The ‘Streaming Only’ TVs last year grew to 17% of UK devices – a steady growth from 14% in January 2020.
Alex Hole, vice president of Samsung Ads Europe, commented: “Last year was a disruptive year for every industry. It’s clear that in TV, the events of 2020 accelerated growth but also fragmentation across formats. Our report reflects the fact that the evolution of viewership is incredibly complex. Even within the fast-growing streaming category, audiences are fragmenting across OTT environments.
“As viewers get used to choosing what and when they watch, advertisers have an opportunity to evolve around those choices. The growth of streaming shows that appetite for content is only growing. This is a trend we expect to see continuing into 2021 as content options proliferate and viewers increasingly ‘go with the show’, hunting for new ways to find favoured content. This is an exciting time for advertisers looking to connect with viewers on the biggest screen in the home.”
