Ericsson’s annual TV & Media ‘ConsumerLab’ report 2016 launches

Ericsson says that the rapidly growing trend and popularity of mobile TV and video consumption "has led to a significant boost in total viewing figures".

In addition, we’re told that consumers’ viewing habits and their ever increasing appetite for user-generated content "is having an impact on the TV and media landscape".

The full report can be downloaded here free of charge.

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Ericsson says the report represents the views of "1.1 billion consumers", and "reveals massive scale of growth in mobile video viewing", as the "weekly share of time spent watching TV and video on mobile devices has grown by 85% in the last six years".

The report is "based on interviews with 30,000 individuals in 24 countries, statistically representing the views of 1.1 billion people", which Ericsson claims is "the largest study of its kind into TV viewing habits".

Boasting of "supporting data and insight from on-device measurements and qualitative research, the report details the latest consumer behaviours, attitudes and demands in relation to TV and Media, and the potential impact these trends can have on current industry business models".

Interviews were undertaken with consumers aged 16-69 across 24 markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, the UK and the US.

Ericsson says "all respondents have a broadband Internet connection at home and watch TV and video at least once a week. Almost all use the Internet on a daily basis."

The report says that "US consumers rate video on demand (VOD) services higher than broadcast TV, despite spending substantially more time (45%) choosing what to watch when using them."

It also shows that "while both mobile video and on-demand TV viewing have soared over the past seven years, content discovery remains a huge frustration for consumers."

Here are some of the stats Ericsson shared, starting with the continued shift to mobile:

• Average viewing times on mobile devices has grown by more than 200 hours a year since 2012, driving up overall TV and video viewing by an additional 1.5 hours a week;
• The surge in mobile viewing is offset with a decline in fixed screen viewing of 2.5 hours a week. However the appetite for TV and video is not waning;
• Weekly share of time spent watching TV and video on mobile devices has grown by 85% (2010-2016);
• On fixed screens it has gone down by 14% over the same period;
• About 40% of consumers globally are "very interested" in a mobile data plan that includes unrestricted video streaming; and
• In the US, 20% of mobile viewing is paid-for content using services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.

Content discovery: Ericsson asks ‘how hard can it be?’

The company points to "a major issue, highlighted by the report", being that of the "low consumer satisfaction when trying to find something to watch".

Ericsson points to 44% of US consumers saying they "can't find anything to watch on linear TV on a daily basis, an increase of 22% compared with last year (36%)".

In contrast, we’re told that "US consumers spend 45% more time choosing what to watch on VOD services than linear TV."

Paradoxically, exclaims Ericsson, "63% of consumers claim that they are very satisfied with content discovery when it comes to their VOD service, while only 51% say the same for linear TV".

The findings are reported to "suggest that although the VOD discovery process is more time-consuming than with linear broadcast TV, consumers rate it as less frustrating, as it implicitly promises the opportunity to find something they want to watch, when they want to watch it".

Popularity of on-demand services soars:

• The total viewing time of on-demand content — such as streamed TV series, movies and other TV programmes — has increased 50% since 2010. Strong indicators of this growing engagement and satisfaction with VOD services include:
• Consumers continue to embrace binge watching; 37% watch two or more episodes of the same show in a row on a weekly basis, more than a fifth say they do this daily.
• Consumer spending on VOD services in the US has increased by more than 60% since 2012, from $13 to $20 per month.
• About 40% of respondents say they watch YouTube daily; a substantial 10% say they watch YouTube for more than three hours a day.

Zeynep Ahmet, senior adviser, Ericsson ConsumerLab, says: "Based on our extensive research, we can see consumers increasingly ask for seamless access to high quality TV and video content, across services and devices.

“For consumers in general, and millennials in particular, being able to watch on the smartphone is key. Consumers not only want the shared, social broadcast TV experience, they also expect the flexibility of an à la carte on-demand media offering. Today's experience is multifaceted and consumers want to create their own worlds of compelling, personalised content."