NEW YORK — A new study released on Thursday by the TVB, conducted on its behalf by GfK, aims to better understand “the vast world of streaming and how linear television, specifically local broadcast TV, fits in it.”
Some 4,000 respondents offered their input. The key takeaway: Some 18% did not watch broadcast TV.
Indeed, when asked about broadcast television and, in particular, local TV news, GfK’s research for TVB concluded that 82% of respondents watched broadcast TV.
But, when it comes to watching local news, digital consumption is notably significant. Some 76% of respondents who own a TV watched local TV news, while 56% used a local TV website or app. Some 81% of respondents were exposed to local broadcast TV news either on a TV set or through an app or website.
Narrowing down the Adults 18-34 demographic, some 65% of respondents in this age group view local broadcast news on a TV. Some 60% use local TV news website/apps.
Where the newscasts are viewed, and on what device, is also noteworthy. Survey respondents downloaded local broadcast TV news apps to their TV (38%) and smartphone, tablet, or PC (45%).
The conclusion from TVB Chief Research Officer Hadassa Gerber? “Advertisers who want to reach ad-free streaming viewers can do so with broadcast TV assets. Broadcast TV and local TV news website/apps reach 88% of those who subscribe to SVOD with no ads.”
Meanwhile, the GfK-fielded TVB study finds that younger adults tend to have more TVs in the household than older adults. (three sets per household, compared to 2.5 sets per household). But, how younger adults are using the sets, to little surprise, greatly varies from older consumers.
- 97% of Adults 18-34 have at least one SVOD service, only 85% of Adults 35+ have at least one
- Younger demos tend to have more ad-free subscriptions (80% of Adults 18-34 subscribe to Netflix and Disney+ without ads). Hispanic consumers are also pacesetters, overindexing against the total market (79% of U.S. Latinos subscribe to add-free Netflix plans)
Meanwhile, multicultural overindexing of TV set ownership continues, as Hispanics and Black/African Americans have more TV sets (2.8 and 3.1 respectively) than the average population (2.6) and tend to have a higher rate of subscriptions to SVOD (94% for Hispanics compared to 88% for adults 18+).
THE ‘SVOD’ STORY
The TVB study also places a spotlight on subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) consumption. And, among respondents, some 95% have a TV in their home and the average number of TV sets per home is 2.6; 22% of all homes have 4+ TV sets.
When it comes to streaming devices, nearly 8 out of 10 respondents use a TV set, even for Apple TV+. And, 88% of subscribers had at least 1 SVOD service. Of these:
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- 92% have at least one ad-free service; only 8% exclusively have service(s) with ads.
- Two-thirds of respondents subscribe to Netflix, while 58% subscribe to Amazon Prime Video.
- More than 70% of Netflix (74%), Disney+ (71%), and Max (71%) subscribers do not see advertising.
- Between one-third and half of students get discounts on streaming services where available.
- Of those who watch YouTube content with advertising, two-thirds skip the commercial after 5 seconds, when it is available to them.
The 2023 SVOD study was commissioned by TVB and conducted by GfK.
