TORONTO – Canadians are changing the way they consume Internet TV services now that they are connecting the Internet to their television sets, according to a new study from the Media Technology Monitor.
The report, The Rise of Netflix and How the Internet TV Market Has Changed, examines the shifts in the consumption of Internet TV plus the company that best symbolizes this change: Netflix. It predicts that with the underlying technologies to watch the Internet on a TV set already in many Canadian homes (e.g. broadband and a game console), the conditions are ripe for this consumer trend to spread rapidly.
Among the report’s key findings:
– Internet TV has thus far been complementary to broadcast TV, in large part because it has been consumed on the smaller screens of computers and laptops. Many Canadians watch TV on the Internet, but they do it for short periods of time (e.g. catch-up TV);
– With Internet connected game consoles, Blu-ray players and the like, Internet TV is now poised to be consumed on the most important video screen: the TV set. When it gets there, viewers will watch frequently and for longer periods of time;
– Netflix subscribers report watching less broadcast TV, but virtually all still subscribe to cable TV, satellite and other methods. As a result, it is too early to conclude that Netflix will change how Canadians receive TV content; and
– Rogers’ ISP service has a lower share of Netflix subscribers, while most western-based ISPs (eg. Shaw, Telus) have a higher share.
