Video, minimised
Though television viewing held steady at about 4 hours per day during the rise of the PC and broadband. But in recent years, hours watched have declined, steadily. According to BARB, hours of live television viewed in the UK fell by 6% (12 minutes) in 2014, following a 5% decline in 2013.
Smartphones have certainly had their part to play. The easy access they offer to online news has nibbled away at the relevance for televised news bulletins. And smartphones offer increasingly attractive alternatives to watching TV, such as playing games.
Despite this, we still find that UK consumers are content to watch several hours of video on a television in the evening. But on smartphones the shorter the duration the better (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Video usage on smartphones
Q. For which, if any, of the following do you typically use your smartphone for?
Weighted base: Respondents who own or have access to a smartphone (3,039)
Source: UK edition, Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, May-Jun 2015
Even when smartphone users are able to watch high quality video on the go through a 4G network, they often choose not to. In our 2015 survey of 4G users, video watching was only the 8th most used application, down from 7th last year.
While smartphones may not compete with television for watching traditional long-form video, arguably they could crowd-out time and attention that would otherwise have been given to a TV set. Almost a quarter of respondents say they use their smartphone ‘almost always’ and ‘very often’ while watching TV or a film (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Usage of smartphones while watching TV/films
Q. How often, if at all, do you use your mobile phone while doing the following? (While watching TV/a film)
Note: Respondents who do not watch TV/films have been excluded from this analysis
Weighted base: Respondents who own or have access to a standard phone or smartphone (3,682)
Source: UK edition, Deloitte Global Mobile Consumer Survey, May-Jun 2015
As the smartphone now diverts our attention while we are watching TV, advertisers must rise to the challenge. They may no longer be able to rely on the 30-second ad to effectively convey their brand message. Finding ways to straddle both the mobile and the traditional TV platform will be crucial to advertising success in the future.