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23 August 2010
Taipei
Thanks to the Internet, today, mobile technology and an unending well of content, it seems the full potential of video is finally being realized. Consumers globally have proven their insatiable appetite for video-delivery of information and entertainment, and new means and screens have proliferated. Whether it be the standard TV, on the computer or on a mobile phone, viewership continues to grow, and will likely do so as new technologies enhance the experience and convenience.
Nielsen recently completed a survey of more than 27,000 online consumers in 55 countries, asking simple questions about how they watch video. Looked at in the context of Nielsen’s more detailed, syndicated measurement of video consumption across many markets, the result is a baseline understanding of the state of cross-platform video consumption amongst global online consumers.
Television: The Most Widely Watched Screen
In an era of multiple viewing options, new technology has kept the living room relevant and in-home television remains the most widely used video screen around the world. Globally, 90% of online consumers use their in-home television at least once per month. Penetration of TV was lowest in Europe, where respondents were 11 points less likely than the global population to say they had watched television in the past 30 days.
Not all European markets in our survey indexed low on penetration of TV viewing, but in Germany and a number of adjacent, western European markets – Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium – respondents were at least 26 points less likely to report watching television in the past 30 days.
Our metered-measurement of TV viewing across 24 markets is consistent with the survey data in demonstrating the ubiquity of television consumption. In only one market measured, Puerto Rico, did television reach fall below 90 percent in March 2010.
The use of television is universal in the markets we measure, but a different story emerges when we consider the amount of time for which viewers tune in. Relying on Nielsen’s electronically metered measurement of television consumption in 26 markets, Nielsen found that the highest daily TV time spent for March was in Serbia, where consumers averaged more than five-and-a-half-hours of TV viewing per day. Macedonia followed with five hours and 18 minutes per day, followed by the U.S. and Greece following, each with just over five hours per day, per capita. Viewers in Thailand use their televisions least within Nielsen’s metered markets: the typical Thai tunes in for just two hours and 11 minutes, or less than half the time spent in some of the leading markets.
In Taiwan, television is also the main media of watch video with two-third (67%) of Taiwanese online users consuming video via television at home at least once a day, followed by computer at home (66%). According to Nielsen Television Audience Measurement in Taiwan, aged 4 and above spend 3 hours and 40 minutes on TV daily.
Quality Drives Quantity: HDTV and the Global TV Experience
As screens proliferate, technology is enhancing the TV viewing experience for consumers around the world. High Definition Television, in particular, is keeping consumers tuned in.
Globally, 30% of respondents own a high-definition television set. Ownership indexes highest amongst adults 55–59—a critical age at which consumers have the disposable income and more time to enjoy the finer things in life.
To date, North America leads in the ownership of high-definition television sets. Dropping prices, a rapid onset of content and the adoption of Blu-ray players and next-generation video game consoles make North Americans 57% more likely than average to own an HDTV set, while consumers in Latin America and MEAP (Middle East, Africa and Pakistan) are 37% less likely to own one.
Though the Asia Pacific region on the whole under-indexes for HDTV ownership, some Asia-Pacific markets rise to the top in HD adoption. Hong Kong consumers are 60% more likely than the global online population to own an HDTV set—just behind the top market for HDTV, Australia, where consumers are nearly twice as likely as the global average to own an HDTV set.
High-definition TV adoption should continue at a steady pace. Globally, 11% of consumers told us they had definite interest in acquiring one in the next year.
The New Clicker: Two-thirds of the World Tuning In on their Computers
As YouTube celebrates just its fifth anniversary this year, online video has already reached an astonishing point of ubiquity among online consumers. Globally, 70% of online consumers watched video over the Internet in March. Penetration is predictably highest among younger consumers. Three in four Taiwanese online respondents claim they’ve watched online video in the past 30 days, and 38 percent consume video via internet at least once per day.
Western markets still fall behind Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East when it comes to online video. Today, Europe under-indexes for online video penetration by 23 points, while North America under-indexes by 11.
Online video is most broadly watched among online consumers in China and Indonesia, where consumers are 26% more likely to use video. Conversely, online consumers in Germany, Belgium, France and Denmark are all at least 50% less likely to watch online video and consumers in Denmark are 70% less likely than the global population. In several of these lagging markets—Germany for instance— access to online video through the websites of traditional TV networks is just beginning and this introduction of premium online video content might still spur the pace of adoption.
Online video has extended video consumption to the workplace. Globally, 57% of respondents report having watched online video on their computer at work—higher amongst younger consumers who have grown accustomed to accessing video whenever, wherever they want it.
As employers observe this trend, many in Europe and North America have put filters and policies in place to restrict video consumption by workers on the clock. The efforts seem to be paying off: consumers in North America and Europe were 40% and 33% less likely to consume video in the workplace, respectively, a wider regional gap than seen with online video overall.
On a market basis, workplace video consumption is most popular amongst online consumers in China, Hong Kong and India: consumers in each market were more than 45% more likely to watch online video at work. In lower penetration online video markets such as Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands, usage at work is even more limited: in Denmark, for instance, online consumers are 84 points below the average for workplace video penetration.
What’s the main ways of accessing internet globally? Computer at home is top of the list with its 63 percent reach rate, followed by computer at work’s 11 percent. In Taiwan, computer at home is also the primary mean of accessing internet. Three in five Taiwanese online respondents use computer at home to browse internet and 18 percent use computer at work.
Mobile Video: Millions Tuned in to Their Phone, but Adoption Still Varies Greatly
Nowhere in our survey of video consumption did we find broader variation than in mobile viewership. For many, the jury is still out on mobile as a video platform, but our research proves that for millions of consumers around the world, the phone is already an important viewing screen. Globally, 11 percent of online consumers watched some video or mobile TV on their phone in March. 8 percent of Taiwanese online users consume video via mobile phone.
As with online video, Europe and North America lag in mobile video adoption. While Asia-Pacific online consumers are 45% more likely to use mobile video and MEAP consumers 26% more likely, North Americans and Europeans lag by 55% and 45%, respectively. Often the lag of mobile media adoption in North America and Europe is attributed to the advanced mobile cultures in comparative markets, but it should also be noted that, with regard to video especially, the proliferation of other screen choices also impacts relative mobile video consumption. That is to say, slower mobile video adoption in North America and Europe may as much be attributed to the technological advancement and ubiquity of other screens in these markets as it is to the proliferation of mobile technology in more advanced mobile media markets.
The New Clicker: Two-thirds of the World Tuning In on their Computers
As YouTube celebrates just its fifth anniversary this year, online video has already reached an astonishing point of ubiquity among online consumers. Globally, 70% of online consumers watched video over the Internet in March. Penetration is predictably highest among younger consumers.
Western markets still fall behind Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East when it comes to online video. Today, Europe under-indexes for online video penetration by 23 points, while North America under-indexes by 11.
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications. The privately held company is active in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, http://www.nielsen.com.
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