Audiences in Central & East Europe, the Middle East and Africa are taking to Multiscreen delivery, catch up TV and so-called content snacking, according to a new report commissioned by Discovery Networks.
The Rise of the Television Everywhere Audience, conducted for Discovery by The Future Fondation, surveyed 5,000 TV viewers across 10 CEEMEA markets: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine and UAE. Unsurprisingly, it found the young and early adopters to be first to use the new technologies and services.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time for the TV industry and viewers who are relishing the greater freedom they have to access and interact with content across multi-screens and social media. This study shows people are watching more linear TV than ever before and how traditional TV viewing is being supplemented and enriched with new audience behaviours across CEEMEA markets,” said Caleb Weinstein, SVP & GM Distribution, Discovery Networks EMEA.
Live online TV viewing is now commonplace in eight of the 10 markets surveyed. Across CEEMEA, 52% have watched live television online in the last six months. The proportion is highest in Romania with 64% and lowest in Hungary at 27%
TV on demand viewing (at 40%) is less common except for the young and early adopters. UAE leads the way in catch-up TV viewing with 55% having watched catch-up TV online in the last six months followed by Russia with 52%.
The use of a second screen is still in its infancy with the Middle East are ahead of Central and Eastern Europe with around a third of tablet owners in Turkey (34%) having watched live TV on their tablets and 28% in the UAE against the CEEMEA average of 25%
Over two thirds look up information online about a programme while watching it, while 34% talk about their viewing through social networks.
But choice comes with a price with over half of viewers in nine of the ten countries surveyed saying they find it difficult to find something to watch – a feeling at its greatest in the Czech Republic.
