Trends in consumer viewing time demonstrate the need for change for traditional players
Per Omdia’s annual analysis of viewing time, the average total daily viewing time across 10 analyzed markets in full year 2024 stood at 359 minutes per person per day (5 hours and 59 minutes), marking a 5-minute increase over the previous year (+1.4%). With a global average of 17 waking hours per day, this means that 35% of the day is spent consuming video content across all markets combined. The power of engagement is clear.
While there is a constant pattern of overall growth in viewing time, there are significant differences taking place between the various market segments. Traditional linear TV viewing is in decline just about everywhere, while subscription video on demand (SVOD) continues to dominate as the leading nonlinear platform, with an average of 67 minutes of viewing per day, marking an increase of 5.8 minutes (+9.6%) over 2023. Social media video and YouTube viewing accounted for average daily viewing times of 56 minutes and 50 minutes, respectively.
The strong performance from SVOD is reassuring for the paid-for premium sector, but linear’s ongoing decline is worrying for broadcasters, particularly as BVOD continues to grow, but still only takes a small percentage of viewing time. Meanwhile, social media video, YouTube et al continue to thrive, meaning that the market is transitioning to a position where much of the growth will come from ad-supported tiers of subscription OTT platforms, social video and a proliferation of ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services. As the time spent on YouTube and social video platforms increases, there will be an ongoing decrease in engagement with, and monetization of, premium TV and video.
The scene is therefore set for a battle for attention. There will remain market segments where subscription growth continues to be important. But, in general, the focus will be on driving up engagement and, specifically, how best to maximize the monetization of that engagement.
