One in four ‘abandoning scheduled TV’

One in three owners of internet-connected TVs primarily watch programmes through built-in services such as the iPlayer and film services such as LoveFilm and Netflix. For 18-24 year olds the figure rises to 41 per cent but includes viewing on laptops rather than televisions.

More than half (53 per cent) of 18-24 year olds who own a smart TV have abandoned ‘linear’ TV altogether, as have 51 per cent of Smart TV owners with pre-school children, according to a YouGov survey.

Just 15 per cent of the over-55s, however, say that they primarily watch TV on-demand.

Dan Brilot, YouGov’s Media Consulting Director, said the data were evidence of a “paradigm shift” in TV consumption.

”While we know from industry sources such as BARB that linear TV is still growing, alongside this we are observing a huge growth in on-demand consumption,” he said. “TV 2.0 is all about consumers, rather than schedulers, deciding what to watch and when.”

He added that while linear TV remains at the core of what most viewers watch at the moment, “the next generation who are growing up with the internet’s new mode of serving and searching content will increasingly focus their viewing attention to on-demand services.”

Smart TVs are able to access a range of internet services, such as the iPlayer, direct from the remote control, but have previously struggled to build consumer traction. Estimates at the end of 2011 from retailer John Lewis suggested that no more than 15 per cent of Smart TVs are ever actually plugged in to the web. YouGov figures claim three-quarters of Smart TV owners now connect their sets to web services, with nearly half then using them more than once a week.

Sony in particular, which is hoping its own online Sony Entertainment Network will encourage users to go online, is pushing the concept. In January, then chief executive and current chairman Sir Howard Stringer said that the firm wanted plugging a TV into an internet service “to be the second thing they do after turning the power on”. Broadcaster Sky has also announced an entirely web-based TV service, called Now.

By the end of the year, YouGov estimates that 14 per cent of UK households will own a Smart TV. Even those who do not own a Smart TV already say that are watching more TV on demand in 49 per cent of cases.

Consumers also say they pay more attention to advertising on Smart TVs, with 29 per cent remembering adverts, compared to 14 per cent for conventional TV.

Brilot added, “Almost a fifth of consumers want to be able to click on TV ads to find out more about the products they are interested in. This desire for a ‘call to action’ relevant to them is ideal for advertisers, particularly if the call to action is making an instant purchase using their TV set and offers a measurable clickable return on advertising investment.”

Most connected TVs are currently sold by Sony, but 62 per cent expecting to purchase one in the next year say Samsung is the most likely option, followed by Sony and Panasonic.