Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Linear TV rules because it satisfies most viewer needs

15/11/2018

According to the latest ThinkBox study

Author:

Ann-Marie CorvinPublish date:

Nov 15, 2018

TV broadcasters' live and on-demand offerings continue to make up the vast majority of video viewing time because they satisfy the largest number of viewers' needs, according to study published today.

The Age of Television study, commissioned by the UK's TV marketing body ThinkBox, identified eight reasons why people watch video (see below) across all platforms.

According to the study, the most popular reason we watch TV is to unwind (26 per cent) with distract' coming in second (18 per cent) and comfort' (shared family or couple time) in third place (16 per cent).

Ten per cent also like to watch TV communally (a need state described as Experience') which involves watching TV watching live or joining social conversation about what's on.

Only two per cent of all viewers watching video to seek out useful practical information (a state described as Do') with YouTube dominating in this category with 56% viewers accessing the service for informative reasons.

The study, conducted by research and strategy consultancy MTM, took these need states' and applied them across different platforms to analyse the popularity of linear TV viewing, which still accounts for over half (56 per cent) of video viewing time.

It concluded that live TV's enduring appeal was because it satisfied the widest range of the study's identified needs states' which viewers have.

By its nature, live TV excels for watching together and watching shows that are best seen when other people are watching ( Experience'), accounting for over two thirds (68 per cent) of all time people spent in this need state.

Catch-up / on-demand viewing accounts for 18 per cent of this Experience' viewing. Online video like YouTube accounts for just 11 per cent.

The study based on a qualitative analysis of 150 days of TV and video viewing filmed through camera glasses worn by 30 people, and a quantitative study of 6,000 people in the UK - also drilled down into reasons why people chose certain platforms.

It found that online video like YouTube excels at quick distraction and more practical needs while viewers watch on-demand services to be transported into new worlds and escapism, particularly among younger viewers.

Thinkbox Research and planning director Matt Hill said that while services like Netflix have emerged to super-serve some viewer needs, they don't serve viewers universally in the way that TV can.

Especially the more social and shared reasons to watch, which are so important to people. And it also shows how YouTube is often UseTube', with a distinct role for practical help.

The 8 reasons we watch:

Unwind (26% of viewing time): relax and de-stress from the pressures of the day

Distract (18%): instant gratification to fill time, counter boredom, have a break

Comfort (16%): shared family or couple time with familiar shows

In touch (12%): feel aware of what's happening in the world

Experience (10%): watching together, watching live or joining social conversation about what's on

Indulge (9%): pursue personal interests, hobbies and passions, sometimes guilty or niche pleasures

Escape (7%): lose yourself in another world

Do (2%): seek out useful, practical information
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/data-centre/linear-tv-rules-because-it-satis...
See more stories from tvb

Most recent headlines

06/10/2025

France Tlvisions Wins Prestigious 2025 EBU Technology & Innovation Award in Groundbreaking Collaboration with Dalet

France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...

04/09/2025

Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Dalet Win Prestigious 2025 NAB Show Project of the Year Award

Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...

01/07/2025

Sinclair Pays $500,000 to Settle FCC Investigations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a consent decree with Sinclair to resolve a variety of in...

01/07/2025

LPTV Broadcasters Association to Hold Webinar on Station Sales

DENVER Low-power television (LPTV) station owners looking to navigate the complexities of selling their assets in todays dynamic media environment are invited t...

01/07/2025

Netflix to Carry Live Programming from NASA+

NASA announced today that live programming from its NASA+ channel will be available on Netflix starting sometime this summer....

01/07/2025

FCC Chair Carr Hires Katie McAuliffe as Policy Advisor

WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has appointed Katie McAuliffe to serve as policy advisor in his office....

01/07/2025

GFiber Demonstrates Network Slicing to Improve Home Internet Performance

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Alphabet's GFiber pay TV and broadband provider has announced that it recently worked with Nokia to demonstrate network slicing....

01/07/2025

DoubleVerify Debuts Attention Measurement for Social Media

NEW YORK, N.Y. DoubleVerify (DV) has announced the launch of DV Authentic Attention for Social. The product will first launch with Snap, the owner of Snapchat....

01/07/2025

FCC Rejects License Challenges to Three Baltimore TV Stations

WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has rejected license challenges to three full-power Baltimore TV stations and agreed to renew the license for C...

01/07/2025

Magewell Brings NDI into Conferencing Software and More w...

Compact new converter lets users capture live NDI and streaming sources into software over a USB interface Video interface and IP workflow innovator Magewell ...

01/07/2025

Disneys Hercules Brings Mosaic Visuals To Life On Stage W...

Disguise, the award-winning tech company driving visuals for Broadway and West End hits including Redwood, Stranger Things: The First Shadow and Disney's Fr...

01/07/2025

KIT Plugins release NOIZ One Vox

Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...

01/07/2025

7 Day Mastering: New course from Mastering.com

New self-paced learning programme announced Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...

01/07/2025

Heather Gray Named Vice President and General Manager of WRAL and FOX 50

Historic appointment ushers in unified leadership for WRAL-TV, New Media, and Digital Solutions RALEIGH, N.C. - 6-27-25 - Capitol Broadcasting Company is prou...

30/06/2025

Discover Weekly Turns 10: Celebrating 100 Billion+ Tracks Streamed and a Decade of Personalized Discovery

There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...

30/06/2025

Spotify's Editors Pick Their Best Songs of the Year (So Far)

When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...

30/06/2025

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel

SBS On Demand boosts global news offering with launch of France 24 FAST Channel 30 June, 2025 Media releases SBS is expanding its international news offeri...

30/06/2025

The Forsytes Season 2 Commissioned by MASTERPIECE on PBS

Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season [June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...

30/06/2025

Artemis II Mission Advances with Successful RS-25 Engine Checkout Tests

The Artemis II Space Launch System core stage is integrated with the solid rocket boosters inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAs Kennedy S...

30/06/2025

WRAL-WRAZ Raleigh Names Heather Gray as VP and GM

RALEIGH, N.C. Capitol Broadcasting Co. has named Heather Gray vice president and general manager of WRAL-TV and WRAZ-TV here....

30/06/2025

VAB Awards JJ Freeman Engineering Award to Bill Sewell of WTKR/WGNT

The Virginia Association of Broadcasters has recognized Bill Sewell, Director of Engineering at WTKR & WGNT in Norfolk, Va. as the recipient of the 2025 J.J. Fr...

30/06/2025

SBE Recruits 49 New Members

The Society of Broadcast Engineers said its annual member drive resulted in the recruitment of 49 individual members....

30/06/2025

Avid Releases Full Integration of MediaCentral, Wolftech News

BURLINGTON, Mass. Avid today released its fully integrated news platform, uniting MediaCentral and Wolftech News in a single newsroom solution, and will demonst...

30/06/2025

FCC Fines Sinclair $500,000

WASHINGTON The Federal Communication's Enforcement and Media Bureaus have entered into a Consent Decree with Sinclair Broadcast Group to resolve a variety o...

30/06/2025

Qu-Bit announce the Bloom v2

Eurorack sequencer module reimagined California-based modular synth innovators Qu-Bit have announced the launch of a new module that offers a fresh new take...

30/06/2025

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert

Berklee at Umbria Jazz Clinics to Host 40th Anniversary Concert The celebration will be held on July 10 in Perugia, Italy. By Colette Greenstein June 30, 202...

30/06/2025

PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks

PremiumBeat Tips and Tricks Brie Clayton June 30, 2025 0 Comments When editing to impress, you'll need quality music, and if your studio happens t...

30/06/2025

Techivation launch T-De-Esser Pro Mk2

Improved dynamic behaviour, improved audio quality & more Techivation have announced the release of an upgraded edition of their very first premium plug-in,...

30/06/2025

German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases electromagnetic combat from the air

German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases e...

30/06/2025

Beln Cuesta and Karra Elejalde Star in 'El nio', the New Film by Mariano Barroso

Back to All News Bel n Cuesta and Karra Elejalde Star in El ni o, the New Film ...

30/06/2025

A New Dangerous Troll Awakens: Netflix Unleashes Teaser for 'Troll 2'

Back to All News A New Dangerous Troll Awakens: Netflix Unleashes Teaser for Troll 2Play Video Play Video Entertainment 30 June 2025 GlobalNorwayDenmarkSwe...

30/06/2025

The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on

The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on Don't miss unbeatable deals on Scarlett, Vocaster, and more. Whether you're an artist, a producer, or a podcaste...

30/06/2025

Yellowstone origin story 1923 starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren comes to RT One and RT Player

All 8 episodes of Season 1 of 1923 will be available on RT Player from Tuesday ...

30/06/2025

Thales 2025 Global Cloud Security Study Reveals Organizations Struggle to Secure Expanding, AI-Driven Cloud Environments

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn 52% report AI security spending is displacing tr...

30/06/2025

Thales Alenia Space to develop SOLiS very-high-throughput laser communications demonstrator

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Cannes, June 30th, 2025 - Thales Alenia Space, t...

29/06/2025

Roland introduce the Mood Pan

Handpan-inspired instrument announced Roland have announced the launch of the Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument that has been designe...

29/06/2025

A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse Netflix and YRF Entertainment's 'Mandala Murders' Premieres July 25

Back to All News A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curs...

28/06/2025

Press Release: NFVF Marks Youth Month by Empowering Future Creatives Through Film & TV Bursaries

Johannesburg, 27 June 2025 - As the nation commemorates Youth Month 2025, the N...

28/06/2025

FCC Chair Brendan Carr Promises Very, Very Busy, Productive Summer

WASHINGTON In a press conference following the Federal Communications Commission's May Open Meeting, Chair Brendan Carr promised the agency would move rapid...

28/06/2025

Spectrum Awards $1.1 Million in 2025 Spectrum Digital Education Grants

STAMFORD, Conn. Charter Communications has awarded $1.1 million in Spectrum Digital Education grants to 55 nonprofit organizations that work to expand access to...

28/06/2025

Sonnet Announces Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock Now Veri...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. June 19, 2025 What's New: Sonnet Technologies today announced the certification of its Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock as an Engin...

28/06/2025

IDC Names MASV One of Three Most Innovative Companies in...

MASV (massive.io), the fastest and most reliable large file transfer platform for media professionals, has been named an IDC Innovator in the IDC Innovators: Me...

28/06/2025

TV SKYLINE Expands Live Production Capabilities with Late...

Grass Valley today announced that TV SKYLINE GmbH, one of Europe's top mobile production providers, has expanded its camera inventory with 30 LDX 135 UHD/HD...

28/06/2025

AgileTV has been selected to develop and implement LIWEST...

AgileTV, a European leader in TV and video technology solutions, signed an agreement with Austrian telco LIWEST to develop and implement its TV service in Austr...

28/06/2025

Scaler 3.1 update from Scaler Music

Music theory plug-in updated Three months on from the release of the latest version of their renowned music theory plug in, Scaler Music have launched an up...

28/06/2025

The 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K

The 48th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo Shot with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments Filmmaker Cameron Mackey relied on Bl...

28/06/2025

Social, Streaming Don't Compete, They Compliment

Social, Streaming Don't Compete, They Compliment Andy Marken June 27, 2025 0 Comments I think we've all arrived at a very special place. Spir...

28/06/2025

Blackmagic Design Captures Filipino Rock Band Drama Singtala

Blackmagic Design Captures Filipino Rock Band Drama Singtala Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12K and DaVinci Resolve St...

28/06/2025

Enhance Videos Faster with Aiarty Video Enhancer - Offline, Sharp, and Natural

Enhance Videos Faster with Aiarty Video Enhancer - Offline, Sharp, and Natural Brie Clayton June 27, 2025 0 Comments If you've used AI video tools...

27/06/2025

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Eva Victor, the Writer-Director Behind Sorry, Baby

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...