Ericsson’s latest ConsumerLab report is indicating a doubling in smartphone viewing.
Around 70 percent of consumers currently watch TV and video on a smartphone, twice as many as in 2012. They now make up a fifth of total viewing with approximately six hours per week spent watching TV on the devices. By 2020 Ericcson anticipates half of all viewing will be on a mobile screen and half of that on a mobile.
About seven out of ten consumers prefer on-demand and catch up services over scheduled linear viewing – such claims continue to be at variance with TV audiences – however there is no doubt that 16 to 19 year olds spent half their time watching on demand.
The amount of time spent has increased by 100 percent since 2013, but the older generation still spend 80 per cent of their time watching linear TV.
Now in its 8th year the ConsumerLab has seen a significant growth in consumers’ preference for on demand content. Close to 60 per cent favouring it over regular linear broadcasts. As more on demand content is made available, 42 per cent of consumers say they ‘binge-watch’ more TV content than they did 5 years ago.
The survey also shows a contradiction in current TV trends. The growth in the use of smartphones for viewing comes at a time when picture quality is becoming more important.
Ownership of HD TVs has increased from around 75 percent in 2012 to almost 85 percent in 2017, and 4K/UHD TVs are now present in over a fifth of all homes. In contrast, older devices such as desktop computers and stand-alone DVRs have fallen in popularity, with their share of ownership decreasing in 2012 from 80 percent and 60 percent, respectively, to 72 percent and 38 percent in 2017.
