IHS: Brits Watch Less TV Than Ever Before, Italians Watch the Most

LONDON: In a study of TV-viewing habits across several countries, IHS has determined that Brits are watching less television than ever before, as the average consumption time across all platforms decreased by 14 minutes between 2013 and 2014.

IHS's study is across the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In terms of European-wide trends, new research from IHS Technology indicates that traditional broadcast television viewing is being overtaken by two forces: Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) like Sky+ and online video from services like Netflix and BBC iPlayer. More time than ever before is being shifted from traditional broadcast television to online.

In the U.K., 2014 saw record lows for traditional TV viewing, with Brits watching around three hours each day. The growth in time-shifted viewing meant that Brits actually watched less TV in total in 2014 than in 2013. “The U.K. was an early mover with high quality online catch-up services from local broadcasters like the BBC and Channel 4,” said Dan Cryan, the senior director of media and content at IHS Technology. “This has now been joined with clever marketing initiatives like ‘digital box sets’ from Sky and the presence of the major platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime.”

In France, the average viewer consumes about 216 minutes of broadcast TV per day, which is 10 fewer minutes than the year before. This is still well above the 2010 average though. “The use of online services in France is growing, but not at the speed we are seeing in the U.K.,” Cryan said.

German viewers watched 210 minutes of broadcast TV every day in 2014, an average that did not change from the year before. Pay-TV subscriptions in Germany grew by 700,000 in 2014, continuing its seven-year growth trend. “When it comes to TV, German consumers prefer to pay for access rather than content, and as a result, traditional television channels that offer popular shows remain dominant in the German market,” commented Daniel Sutton, analyst at IHS Technology.

Italians, however, increased their average daily consumption of broadcast TV in 2014, bucking the trend seen in the rest of Europe. After a steep decline in 2007, traditional TV viewing grew by an average of four minutes and 42 seconds per person, per day between 2008 and 2014 to reach four hours and 20 minutes. If online and pay-TV viewing figures are included, the number of hours spent watching video in Italy rises to four hours and 37 minutes per day. “Continued growth of viewing, in particular linear, can be attributed to Italy’s difficult financial situation, with high unemployment correlating to an increase in TV viewing time on a per-person per-day basis,” Cryan said. Online viewing times in Italy are very low compared to the other countries in the study. “Despite investment, we are not seeing the kind of pick-up or adoption in other European countries,” Cryan added.

In Spain, viewers watched an average of 242 minutes of TV per day, a slight drop from 2013’s figure. Online video viewing increased by 24 percent, reaching eight minutes per person, per day.

Meanwhile, Americans watched an average of 351 minutes of TV per day, equivalent to almost six hours. “Americans use TV differently [from] many other parts of the world,” Cryan said. “While Europeans will put on the radio for background noise, Americans will turn on the TV. This helps to explain why American linear TV viewing remains higher than economically challenged Italy.” Traditional TV has an central role in American's lives, but that position is being eroded by alternative content and consumption models. “We are seeing a quiet revolution in the way that Americans watch video,” Cryan said. The decline in linear TV has been more or less offset by the growth of other forms of viewing.