More than half (51%) of all German households now own a smart TV set. In 2018 it was 46%, in 2017 just 42%.
67% actually use the smart functions of their smart TV set, compared with 61% in 2018 and 56% in 2017. At 80%, the figure for the younger generation of 16 to 39-year-olds is significantly higher than the figure for the over-60s (56%). The main reason why smart functions are not used via the TV set is mainly the lack of interest in these possibilities (53%). 17% fear that the data exchange is not secure and 15% think that the usage is too complicated.
The source of the figures is a study commissioned by German industry association gfu Consumer & Home Electronics, for which 2,000 households were interviewed in April and May 2019.
Streaming and catch-up services are increasingly being used by TV viewers. Video-on-demand (VOD) is used by 72% of respondents, followed by catch-up TV with 56%. Interesting: With 77%, women use VOD more than men (68%). The generation of 16 to 39-year olds uses VOD with 84% significantly more than the over 60 age group with 42%. The picture for the use of catch-up services is the opposite: 50% in the 16 to 39 years of age group use them – and 69% of over 59-year-olds.
The study also asked about the preferred devices for watching video content. The results: The consumption of VOD (84%) and the TV channels’ catch-up services (82%) is clearly dominated by TV sets. For video portals such as YouTube, on the other hand, the smartphone leads (36%). Only 4% of VOD and catch-up TV content is consumed on smartphones.
Among the VOD users, US services are leading. Amazon Prime Video comes first with 72%, Netflix second with 63%, Google Play third with 25% and Sky Deutschland fourth with 23%. The popularity of VOD services has increased the willingness to pay for video content: 47% of the users of VOD services subscribe to one streaming service, 43% use two and 10% even three or more. More than €10 per month are spent on streaming services by 53% of users; in 2018 the figure was still at 43%.
Download the full study as a PDF file (in German): gfu Insights Trends 2019
