Beijing – New research from Irdeto that explores consumer viewing patterns and preferences on accessing video content unveiled that 86% of Chinese consumers still watch video content at home but only 15% of the respondents do so on traditional TV with a combined majority of 85% choosing computers, smartphones and tablets as their preferred screens. Also, with close to 60% of respondents saying that they watch videos on-the-go (while commuting, or outside of work, school, or home), it reaffirms the rise of multi-screen viewing among Chinese consumers today.

The survey found laptop and desktop computers to be the top screen of choice when it came to viewing video content (42%), and smartphone devices to be the second most preferred screen for viewing video content (29%) – underlining a significant behavioral shift whereby viewers are now typically choosing non-traditional platforms over traditional television.

Released on March 20 at CCBN 2014, the survey was conducted among 1,000 nationally representative Chinese adults aged 18 and above in early March. It tackled important questions on both video viewing preferences as well as factors influencing consumers’ decision to watch pirated video content.

The results showed that consumers in China are concerned about security risks (32%) and poor video quality (25%) despite an openness to online piracy, where more than 60% of respondents said that they were ‘extremely likely’ (21%) or ‘likely’ (41%) to pirate video content. A combined 58% cited high pricing of paid content (28%) and refusal to wait for official release of video (30%) as the top two compelling reasons for watching pirated videos.

Key Findings:

The majority of consumers (86%) still watch video content at home, whether it is on their television or through streaming on a mobile device, while the second most preferred location was during their commute (37%)