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Netflix, ABC & SBS lead streaming, study finds.

New research data pushes public broadcasters ahead of commercial rivals in their streaming uptake.

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Netflix dominates, ABC iview and SBS On Demand are dominating the streaming landscape in Australia, according to new research.

Almost seven in ten Australians (69%) have watched Netflix, while close to six-in-ten (57%) have used iview and more than half (52%) have tuned into SBS On Demand.

Stable Research data, on behalf of online video developer Switch Media, found the highest uptake of ABC and SBS is from older Australians, with 70% and 67% of over 65-year-olds watching iview and On Demand respectively.

Other findings of the research showed:

  • Australians have used an average of 4.3 streaming services.
  • The typical Netflix viewer is younger (with 96% of 18-24-year-olds having used the service) and of a female skew (74% of all female respondents).
  • Netflix, ABC, and SBS are viewed as providing the best overall user experience with 97%, 93% and 90%, respectively, of their audiences rating their experience above average.
  • Close to half (39%) of consumers use a laptop or desktop to watch streamed content, 34% use an Apple iPad, and 30% percent use an iPhone. The Smart TV was close behind at 28%.
  • While a benefit of streaming is that it can be viewed while out and about, only 14% watch streamed content on public transport and 6% watch while travelling in the car.
  • The most popular place to watch streamed content is the living room (86%), followed by the bedroom (57%), while 15% viewed streamed content while in the bathroom or on the toilet.

Switch Media co-founder and CEO, Christopher Stenhouse, “Being still in the relatively early days of streaming, with new players likely to emerge and new devices becoming available further changing how people view content, this research highlights some trends are emerging.

“From our research findings, it’s clear that audiences will experiment with various streaming services, however the most popular and sustainable services will be those that have the best content and user experience including benefits such as seamless ad transitions and content recommendations.

“We are also seeing that Australians are increasingly becoming ‘binge’ watchers. While most consumers (80%) use streamed content as a tool to catch up on programs they’ve missed, 60% are also using it to ‘binge’ watch an entire TV series.

“Cramming an entire original series into a weekend or even one night is definitely becoming a popular pastime with consumers of all ages.”

The figures also show that on average, consumers stream on two and a half different devices.

14 Responses

    1. To paraphrase Gordon, post WIN quitting freeview, “Freeview is a wonderful marketing organisation, but as an engineering (technical) outfit it is terrible”.

      1. Yeah, they bought the brand & some marketing from UK Freeview … and that was all, probably because what Freeview was doing in the UK was too close to the dreaded “Internet” for comfort.

        They were so busy worrying about being spanked by the internet they didn’t notice they were already being spanked by the internet…

        But remember, the Great Minds runnings Australian commercial FTA are the same people who were afraid of EPGs because of ‘piracy’ – and whose solution to that was to avoid telling you when programmes were on. Rocket surgeons they are not; ol’ Bruce is probably the closest thing to an exception to that…

  2. Close to half (39%) of consumers use a laptop or desktop to watch streamed content, 34% use an Apple iPad, and 30% percent use an iPhone. The Smart TV was close behind at 28%.

    It is mathematically impossible for these numbers to be correct, because that would add up to 131% of viewers.

    Also, 39% is not “close to half”

    Getting back to the streaming services: offline downloads, audio description, and the ability to pay to remove ads are all things that I would like to see implemented in Australia. Netflix already does all of them, and in terms of content, overseas a lot of companies do audio description in english already provided by the production company, so it can be done.

  4. I don’t have Netflix, but SBS and the ABC are great. The others don’t have anything I want to watch quite frankly. I did want to see the last episodes of Liar on 7, but it just didn’t work, buffered for hours. And when you look at all the ancient crap clogging up their system, I’m not surprised. They don’t offer anything decent, and when they do, it disappears after a couple of weeks. Just pathetic.

  5. I think trying to insert commercials into streaming has caused me to defect from 10, 9 & 7. They haven’t got the technology right and end up freezing, raising the volume, playing over each other, buffering etc. They should cut their losses and remove commercials before more people (like me) decide never to go back. Once that have a seamless integration…and the technology is 100%…then go back to trying to monetise it.
    Streaming should be about land-grab at the moment…

    When Tenplay first came out and didn’t have commercials yet, it was one of the best. The other 2 have *never* had it right.

    Props to SBS On Demand I guess for figuring the technology out.

    1. Whilst not trying to belittle SBS’ streaming service, it’s not a case of figuring it out. Streaming services platforms are out there in many countries fully working and without all the grief that is regularly complained about regarding the Australian commercial FTA broadcasters’ sites.

      The question that should be asked is, “How can they repeatedly and continuously get it so wrong”?

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