As the number of screens we own rises and content that was once limited to the TV spreads its way across new platforms, it appears ye olde faithful television is remaining resilient with Kiwis yet to avert their eyes entirely according to the latest New Zealand multi-screen report by Nielsen.
The report, which covers the trends of Kiwi video viewing, says more than 3.2 million New Zealanders aged 10-plus (84 percent) are viewing 23 hours of broadcast TV content through their TV sets across a week.
This compares to 26 percent of New Zealanders who watch TV content through other devices in an average week.
For those who have moved their eyes away from the TV, the most popular content for watching video content across a week are desktops/laptops (39 percent), smartphones (27 percent) and tablets (18 percent).
These devices see New Zealanders clock up 15 hours per week on the internet.
The continuing popularity of TV can be attributed to the growth of smart TVs, which share the biggest year-on-year growth with mobile phones.
With smart TVs offering access to both broadcast and online content, Nielsen NZ executive director Caroline Atford said in the release that people are engaging with their TV sets more than ever.
“They are either watching broadcast content or using it for other purposes, such as gaming and browsing the internet, for an average total of five hours a day in 2015.”
Atford said New Zealanders sitting in front of the telly are not planning on cutting the cord anytime soon, however she added: “Savvy content providers have recognised supplementing traditional TV by integrating content across connected devices delivers to consumer demand to watch content anytime, anywhere, on any screen.”
The number of New Zealanders switching on the TV each week is down compared to this time last year. The 2015 report showed 3.7 million people (96 percent) were viewing content on TV across a week.
The 2015 report also identified that in a multi-device home, the TV set is the primary viewing platform while the tablet becomes the choice for individual viewing when other household members have the large screen or there is a programme of interest online, and the smartphone is for entertainment when out and about.
What hasn’t changed however is the number of New Zealanders watching TV in playback mode, referring to broadcast TV material they have recorded within seven days of original broadcast time using a device such as a PVR (Personal Video Recorder).
According to this year’s report, 90 percent of TV broadcast viewing time is live, with 10 percent of content watched in playback mode. Last year nine percent of content was watched in playback mode.
This amount of content watched on PVR devices is not set to grow however as the report says PVR ownership, now in 55 percent of homes, is levelling off. Meanwhile, the number of smartphone and tablet owners has grown 40 percent in the last two years providing access to other TV catch-up services along with Smart TVs.
