Sweden’s march towards on demand delivery continued in 2014 with the average Swede watching 153 minutes of linear TV a day; six minutes less than in 2013.
TV4 has emerged as the leading commercial platform. The broadcaster said its TV4 Play service generated more hits than rivals MTG TV (Viasat) and SBS Discovery.
The broadcaster has been largely resilient against the erosion in linear TV viewing; the main TV4 and Seven both had audience shares on a par with 2013.
“TV4 has strengthened its position as the country’s largest commercial TV channel, Seven remains at record-high proportions, and the new TV12 has established itself seriously with the viewers. Simultaneously we’re beginning to see how our digital transformation may play out with record strong numbers in terms of both consumption and business. To maintain the position of leader of the traditional viewership while breaking new digital ground with new and stronger content services is our New Year’s resolution to viewers and advertisers, says Mathias Berg, director of channel, TV4 Group.
A series of partnerships have been established over the last 12 months. In February, TV4 became the first Scandinavian player on Apple TV, while at the end of the year TV4 launched TV4 Play Chromecast.
TV4 reached an audience share in the main target group 12-59 years at 19.7% (compared with 19.9% in 2013), maintaining its position as the largest channel. Seven remained at the record high share in the previous year. TV12 has since its inception in late March established itself at around 1.6%.