Time spent watching TV plateaued in the UK and France in 2016, IHS Markit says

LONDON -July 25, 2017: IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions, today released findings from its Cross-Platform Television Viewing Time 2016 report, which analyzes TV consumption trends across the ‘big five’ European markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

Online video continues to disrupt the TV market as competition for content and consumption intensifies

Linear television viewing declined across the big five European markets in 2016, with personal video recorder (PVR) time-shifted viewing starting to plateau as PVRs become standard in pay‑TV offerings. In the past two years, an increasing proportion of TV consumption moved to on-demand platforms due to the prolific growth of online video services and content availability.

Across the big five European markets, total TV revenue – including pay-TV subscriptions, advertising and public funding – declined marginally in 2016 to EUR 58.0 billion from EUR 58.3 billion the prior year. Public funding revenue declined by 5 percent, while pay-TV revenue increased by 2 percent, largely driven by on-demand revenue, which grew by 10 percent. In comparison, online video generated EUR 5 billion in revenue in 2016, rising 32 percent from 2015.

Said Fateha Begum, associate director for television media at IHS Markit: “Despite declines, linear TV will continue to account for the bulk of television viewing and must reach a point of plateau. However, traditional TV operators need to address the fact that competition for consumers’ time and media spend is intensifying.”

To adapt to shifts in the market, pay-TV operators have been bolstering their services by launching next-generation set-top boxes, enhancing on-demand catalogs and investing in new platforms and content.

Research by IHS Markit indicates that the average number of on-demand titles offered by UK pay-TV operators increased by 13 percent between 2015 and 2016. Adaptations to online-style binge viewing is also evident, with the same operators showing a 31 percent increase in complete box sets during this same time period.

Increased connectivity poses both threats and opportunities for traditional pay-TV operators

Digitally mature markets such as the UK and France saw total viewing time stabilize in 2016 despite seeing the highest rate of growth in non-linear viewing. “Further competition for consumers’ time is coming from beyond video because there’s a wide range of media services at their fingertips,” Begum said.

Begum continued: “The rising availability of connected set-top boxes presents an opportunity for pay-TV operators to bring some of the connected experiences to the big screen. We expect the media and entertainment markets to become increasingly muddied as players, including social media companies, look to expand their portfolios.”

Linear TV continues to make up the lion’s share of consumers’ viewing time

Time spent on linear TV viewing in Italy far exceeded that of its European counterparts, followed by Spain. Both markets have seen declines in linear viewing as non-linear platforms make strong inroads into television consumption.

“Time spent viewing online short-form content in Italy is notably higher than in any other of the big five European markets,” said Rob Moyser, analyst for television media at IHS Markit. “Italy’s low fixed broadband penetration has encouraged consumers to access the internet via mobile devices instead of traditional broadband networks.”

Germany was the only market among those analyzed in the report to achieve an increase in linear viewing time and, subsequently, total viewing time in 2016. “Despite nearly a 20 percent increase in non-linear viewing time, new methods of consumption have had minimal impact on traditional TV in Germany,” Begum said.

For information on purchasing this report, contact the sales department at IHS Markit in the Americas at (844) 301-7334 or technology_us@ihsmarkit.com; in EMEA at +44 1344 328 300 or technology_emea@ihsmarkit.com; or APAC at +604 291 3600 or technology_apac@ihsmarkit.com.