Report: Catch-Up TV dominates online video

A report today released by the Australian Communications and Media Authority shows that 5.2 million Australians looked at “professionally produced video” online in the last 6 months.

The report concludes ‘catch-up’ TV  is the dominant use of online video with recent episodes of television shows as the most popular content, followed by films.

Figures indicate ABC’s iView attracts twice the consumption of catch-up sites of Seven, Nine and TEN.

But it doesn’t include data from illegal downloads:

It is difficult to estimate the proportion of Australians currently accessing content from international websites in this way, but it could be significant, particularly in certain demographic groupings. However, the level of technical knowledge required to do so might limit such access. Some efforts to fast track online delivery of international content for local audiences have begun. For example, in an Australian first, the ABC has recently begun premiering Dr Who episodes on iView immediately after their broadcast in the UK every Sunday morning at 5.30am, well before their usual broadcast on ABC1, six days later. However, such an arrangement might be less attractive for commercial broadcasters, for whom first-run ratings and associated advertising revenue are paramount.

ACMA also found that IPTV take-up was modest with only 5% of internet-connected households taking up IPTV.

Interestingly, the report also finds a high level of willingness to pay for online video. Half of those intending to access an online video service in the next six months indicated they were prepared to pay.

The data doesn’t indicate how often viewers consumed catch-up TV. In TV Tonight‘s recent Audience Inventory, readers indicated:
How often do you watch TV on official catch-up sites?
Rarely or never 37%
About once a month 19%
About once a week 15%
Less than once a month 14%
A few times a week 12%
About once a day 3%

Other ACMA findings concluded:

43 per cent of Australia’s online adult population (5.2 million) accessed professionally produced online video content (OVC) services in the six months to June 2012.

Full-length television programs (61 per cent of OVC users) and films (32 per cent) were the most frequently reported content accessed. Adoption of these services has been encouraged by factors such as the increasing amount of program content made available online, faster internet speeds and more affordable data costs.

Australia’s free-to-air broadcasters are leading the charge to online viewing, providing the opportunity for audiences to catch-up on recently-aired television programs at the click of a mouse, mostly free of additional access charges. During June 2012, an estimated 11 per cent of online adults used a catch-up TV service.

ABC iview has been an obvious innovator in this area, being the first to offer smartphone-compatible content and most recently making some internationally released shows available to online users in Australia well before their scheduled programming time.

The viewing of high-quality professional internet television services, also known as internet protocol television (or IPTV), is less popular with only five per cent of internet-connected households taking-up IPTV.

Take-up of IPTV may be deterred by low awareness, interest in these services, and lack of time or cost. At June 2012, 38 per cent of internet users in Australia were aware of IPTV services, compared to 51 per cent awareness of catch-up TV.

You can read more here.