data from Samsung Ads Australia reveals how Aussies are consuming content.
Screen time is a major Australian pastime, but how we watch our favourite TV has dramatically shifted.
In the pre-lockdown period, Australian audiences were streaming on Samsung TVs for an average of 2 hours 7 minutes per day. This jumped to 2 hours 50 minutes during the lockdown period, between July to October, which is a growth of 33 per cent.
In regions with longer lockdowns, upticks in streaming were even more pronounced, with New South Wales devices registering a 35 per cent increase in streaming time, taking devices to an average of 3 hours and three minutes a day.
By comparison, time spent watching linear grew 9 per cent during the lockdown period, when daily average viewing time grew from 1 hour 24 mins pre-lockdown, to 1 hour 32 mins.
Linear watching peaked in August, with an average daily viewing time of 1 hour and 39 minutes, likely due in large part to the Olympics.
Almost 8 per cent of Samsung’s total TV universe in Australia are exclusive linear watchers – only interacting with this traditional form of TV viewing.
Heavy linear watchers (who make up one-third of all Samsung TV linear watchers) consume three-quarters of the total linear viewing time. These heavy linear watches are highly loyal and engaged with this format.
In comparison, 23 per cent of Samsung’s total TV universe in Australia are exclusively Streamers. The percentage of the audience that is exclusive streamers grew by 22 per cent from July to November 2021, suggesting more people are becoming immersed completely in the streaming world.
But it’s not just heavy streamers that are watching more streamed content than ever. Light streamers saw the greatest increase in streaming viewing hours during the pandemic when compared to their streaming peers. They watched an additional 4 hours on average per month during this period, equating to a growth of 39 per cent.
When looking at the breakdown of apps or streaming environments people are spending the most time on, Samsung Ads data reveals that SVOD (subscription video on demand) is the standout for Aussies.
Time spent on SVOD increased 47 per cent during the lockdown period overall, accounting for 1 hour 54 minutes on average per day between June and October this year.
Whilst AVOD (ad-supported video on demand) & BVOD (broadcaster video on demand) saw double-digit growth in viewing time during the lockdown, 10 per cent and 16 per cent respectively, these new levels have remained relatively stable post-lockdown.
Samsung’s own AVOD service, Samsung TV Plus, saw a growth of 25 per cent in viewing time between pre-and post-lockdown, equating to 37 extra minutes per monthly session time.
Overall viewership increased again from October to November with 1.2 million viewing hours. This is the highest monthly viewership since the launch of TV Plus in Australia in November 2020.
Alex Spurzem, general manager of Samsung Ads Australia, said: “The days of streaming as an emerging behaviour are over; it’s core to how people watch. We are seeing increases in streaming across all states, even post-lockdown.
“What this data tells us is that TV viewership in Australia is not only growing but increasingly fragmenting. More than half of Samsung TV users are hard to reach on linear TV, because they are either exclusively Streamers or spend very little time watching linear.
“Now more than ever, it’s very easy to overexpose heavy linear viewers and miss other audiences entirely.
“Advertisers should consider adjusting their strategies to reach viewers where they are which, according to our data, is predominately in streaming environments.
“But we cannot apply broad strokes to these TV watchers, as their viewing habits are diversifying and evolving constantly.
“Balancing reach and frequency among Streamers, and linear watchers is now critical to campaign success.”
