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iview, SBS on Demand lead catch-up services.

ACMA finds Free to Air viewing down in 2020, but online viewing was up.

Trying to make sense of BVOD (Broadcast Video on Demand) aka Catch-Up services can be a headache.

But media watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority has given top honours to ABC’s iview (thanks Bluey!) followed by SBS on Demand.

Next are 7plus, 9Now and 10 Play.

The results in Communications and Media in Australia: How we Watch and Listen to Content are based on 7 days in June 2020, amid the pandemic. ACMA also compares the same trends over the previous 4 years.

Amongst the respondents, here’s how the numbers stacked up:

67% iview
40% SBS on Demand
34% 7plus
28% 9Now
22% 10 Play

Live viewing of Free to Air was down compared to previous years, from 75% in 2017 to 56% in 2020.

But online viewing was up. 55% of adults watched content on online subscription services, up from 32% in 2017.

Netflix was king with 63% of adults (up from 54% in 2019) then Foxtel (including Foxtel Now) at 23%, Stan (20%), Disney+ (15%), Amazon Prime Video (10%). Apple TV+ was 7% then Fetch TV (6%) and Kayo (3%).

28% of adults have at least one subscription service (not to be confused with 1.7m households). 13% of adults have 4 or more subscriptions.

The consumer survey methodology used a mixed-mode approach, comprising:

online interviews with Australian adults
computer-aided phone interviews of adults who are not regularly online.
The surveys represented the Australian population aged 18 and over.

ACMA research was undertaken by The Social Research Centre. You can read more here.

5 Responses

  1. Does anyone find 10 Play doesn’t work?
    My new LG doesn’t support the app so I have to log on via the internet. When I get on the ads play, stop, then play again for ages. I usually give up. No problem with 9, 7, iView or SBS

    1. Yes it’s by far the buggiest of the apps for me on Samsung as well. They also hardly ever update their sections with the latest content so you have to dig through the categories to find shows like HYBPA?

  2. In my opinion the viewing figures shown indicate how often each BVOD app refreshes its content so Netflix would be king with the huge investment in new content it makes every year.
    The other players like Foxtel and Stan will be just looking at maintaining their local market share and they cant afford to be complacent, especially Foxtel who now has a more ambitious Stan to contend with.

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