Recent research carried out by TV Licensing has revealed a decline in the number of television sets per household. However, TV viewing hours have seen an increase – as viewers continue to use a variety of ways to consume their favourite programmes.
This year’s TeleScope study shows that ownership of televisions per household has gone from 2.03 in 2003 down to 1.83 in 2012, but with the average viewing times per day climbing to four hours two minutes from three hours 36 minutes in 2006. Although TV set ownership has slipped, more and more people are watching online and via portable devices such as smartphones and tablets. Many people are now opting for handheld devices rather than a second television in the bedroom.
Another reason for the upsurge in viewing time, identified in the study, is the availability of superior and more affordable large hi-tech flat-screen televisions. It points out that in 2012, the TV market value owed more than a third to the sales of 3D TVs. Also over the past 12 months, there was a 10% increase in the amount of large screens of 43 inches or more being sold. This continuous technology development has contributed to the relentless appetite the public has for television, it is estimated PVR or digibox owners have more than 455m hours of TV stored on boxes across the country – around 36 hours for every PVR (Personal Video Recorder) home in the UK.
The TeleScope study also contains the first ever ‘TeleHappiness Index’, which attempts to assess the public’s emotional engagement with television. More than 1,000 people were surveyed and the findings showed that the genre which brings the most happiness to viewers’ lives was (perhaps slightly predictably) comedy. Of those surveyed 95 per cent said they got most enjoyment from this genre.
Further evidence that there is an increased emotional engagement with the medium of TV is highlighted by the rise of Twitter. The social media channel has given television viewers another outlet to air their views on programming, with 60 per cent of the UK’s 10 million Twitter users tweeting about TV.
MEC Opinion: On the whole, this report is very positive with regards the future of TV. It highlights the different ways people watch their preferred shows and the continued increase in the number of hours being viewed each week, even if these aren’t consumed via a TV set.
The important lessons to consider from reading this report are that we need to further consider different ways to reach our target audiences for campaigns. Whilst TV advertising will continue to be the media channel of choice to reach high numbers very quickly, it will be crucial to back this up by with activity online and via VOD. People are continuing to watch TV but not necessarily through a television and this pattern looks set to continue in the future.