UK holds fast but global pay-TV loses ground to social video
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Joseph O'Halloran
| 25 June 2019

Research from Grabyo has revealed the rapid rise of digital with audiences watching video on social media and online streaming services more often than pay-TV services in all major markets except the UK.

The report from the cloud-based video production, editing and distribution provider surveyed over 9600 people across the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Australia, and the US. It found that fundamentally the global video market is becoming fragmented and price point matters as consumers show a preference for ad-supported video across a range of platforms. The majority of consumers still watch video most regularly on free-to-air TV, with social media viewing coming in second.

Globally, 48% of pay-TV customers are watching pay-TV the most and every European market, consumers are streaming video more often than watching pay-TV. In the US, audiences are streaming most often too, watching on social media and pay-TV equally as often. Yet in the UK, 35% of consumers pay for TV and in this segment more than 60% watch most often on pay-TV services.

Over half of UK audiences are considering cutting the cord or have already done so, following the downward trend in cable and satellite subscribers seen in the US. Nearly half (48%) of UK consumers who are looking to cancel pay-TV subscriptions watch video most often on social media platforms.

Mobile was identified as a key driver for the surge in streaming and social. The survey found that three-fifths of consumers watched video most frequently on a smartphone and that all global audiences under 50 were watching more often on a smart TV, streaming device or laptop/desktop than a traditional TV set.

The study found that social video audiences are most interested in content from media publishers and brands over anything other types of video. Social media feeds were found to be filled with user-generated video clips, but Grabyo noted that this is not what most social media users want to watch.

In the round, said Grabyo, these numbers reflect one of the challenges for paid TV services, as customers paying for TV services don’t use them as regularly as digital alternatives. In addition, it said that social platforms are emerging as competitors of TV and online streaming platforms for video audiences, driving investment in media partnerships and original content across Facebook Watch, YouTube, Twitter and Snap, investments reflecting the demands of users that want higher quality video and greater content choice.

Grabyo concluded that streaming video on social and digital platforms has become the new norm for the global video audience. The future of TV is the internet, it said, and stressed that the future was almost here.

“The growth in streaming services and social video offers choice for consumers commented Grabyo CEO Gareth Capon. “The UK’s pay-TV market has been resilient given the strength of its content proposition and high-quality services, but this may not last. Broadcasters need to adapt to this shift in viewer behaviour and expectations. We know consumers want to watch broadcast TV content, but they want to watch it on the device that suits them and with a business model that reflects their individual needs.”