Non-linear viewing is still in its early stages in even the most mature TV markets, accounting for only around 8% of the total in the UK in 2010 and set to rise to around 13% by 2015.
What is more, VOD is barely represented, being largely anchored to the linear schedule, with DVR being the most favoured viewing method.
Speaking in a seminar organised by IHS Screen Digest and entitled International Channel Strategies & Benchmarking, Richard Broughton, one of the company’s senior analysts, television, said that the non-linear viewing figure in the UK in 2010 compared to nearly 10% in the US, 6% in Germany, 4% in France and around 2% in Italy and Spain.
By 2015, these figures should rise to nearly 16% in the US, 10% in France, 8% in Germany and around 5% in Spain and Italy.
While these countries are globally at the forefront of non-linear viewing, linear TV viewing is still increasing.
In the UK, for instance it rose from 1,325 hours per person per year in 2005 to 1,450 hours in 2010.
Broughton added that in terms of revenues, on demand services were worth nearly €1.4 billion in 2010.
Furthermore there were 14 billion views of VOD content via pay-TV services worldwide in 2010, 9 billion of which were in the US alone. 600 million long-form online videos were viewed in France and 5 billion via DVR time shifting in the UK.
Interestingly, primetime is more susceptible to time shifting, especially in the US.
