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Irdeto global research

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Amsterdam – Young viewers are driving next generation content services with their high expectations of personalised services, penchant for binge viewing and use of connected devices, according to new global research from Irdeto, the world leader in Multiscreen, Revenue Assurance and Media Protection solutions. The research revealed that roughly a third of American (36%) and UK (30%) consumers see personalised recommendations as either important or very important, however this rises to 45% for 18-34 year olds in the US and 55% among 18-24 year olds in the UK.

Live TV viewing habits are also drastically different in younger age groups with 58% of UK consumers and 49% of US consumers still watching the majority of TV shows live as they are broadcast on TV – yet these figures drop to 36% for 18-24 year olds in the UK and just 29% for US 18-34 year olds. It’s no coincidence that the same age groups who have high expectations of personalized services are heavier users of Internet TV services.

To further understand and analyze the research, Irdeto developed five distinct personas that consumers fit into in terms of their content viewing preferences and habits, detailed in the Irdeto Media Consumption 2014 infographic. The personas are:

  • Media Minimalists: Conscious choice to minimise use of video
  • TV Traditionalists: Perfectly happy with linear pay TV, the choice , quality of service and exclusive content
  • Digital Dabblers: Not strongly interested in lots of content, but require full on-demand experience when they are
  • Two-Fold Users: Use traditional and digital to view content – more focused on access rather than platform
  • Media 3.0 Masters: Driven by a love of content and requirement for it to be 100% on demand

 

The research was commissioned by Irdeto and conducted among a representative sample of over 4,700 adults to understand and address consumer expectations and behavior around personalized recommendations, content viewing habits and connected devices. It uncovers trends in evolving viewing expectations and habits in the US, UK, Australia, Singapore, India and Indonesia.

 

Other key highlights of the research include:

  • Connected devices more prominent in APAC: while heavy use of connected devices alongside TV viewing is limited to younger Media 3.0 Masters in the US and UK, the majority of all consumers in Indonesia (90%), Singapore (80%), India (79%) and Australia (71%) are making use of second screens, making them Two-Fold Users. Only around half of US (53%) and UK (50%) consumers use connected devices while watching TV.
  • Content distractions: In the majority of global markets, connected devices are mostly used as a distraction from content rather than a complement, often by Two-Fold Users. In the UK (30%), U.S. (33%), Australia (35%) and Singapore (33%) more consumers use connected devices to play games or chat with friends while watching TV. It is only India and Indonesia that differ, where the most popular use of connected devices is to interact with or discuss the program on social media (India, 27%) or to get more information on a program or download related apps (Indonesia, 47%).
  • Consumer patience and windowing: Content windows have been less of an issue for consumers than the attention around binge watching would suggest. The research revealed that the majority of US (69%) and UK (67%) are happy to wait for new shows to become available – often these will be TV Traditionalists. Only a very small proportion of consumers (Likely the Media 3.0 Masters) would not be willing to wait, with 7% in the US and 6% in the UK saying they would switch content provider if necessary, and 5% in both markets who would keep their content provider and search online for pirated content.

“The massive rise in popularity of OTT services is facilitating an evolution in content consumption habits. It’s clear from our research that young consumers have the strongest expectations when it comes to personalization, content availability and multi-screen devices,” said Richard Scott, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Irdeto. “It’s important for both traditional broadcasters and OTT service providers to cater to these evolving habits, ensuring an engaging multi-screen experience while also considering the personas they’re targeting for new services.”