TORONTO – While live viewing commands a significant share of total television viewing in Canada, Numeris is now measuring on-demand viewing, which is says delivers “bonus audiences” for programs.
Its first on-demand report viewing report offers some general insights into how Canadians interact with time-shifted television content. The broadcast audience measurement company defined on-demand (OD) viewing as watching video content available through set-top box VOD services or broadcaster websites.
According to the report, all 415 episodes in the study were viewed and some episodes had as many as 300,000 people watching during an average minute. Most episodes were watched close to their entirety and 25–40% of on-demand viewers also watched the original broadcast.
On-demand viewers were more likely to be female, aged 25–49 years, part of the workforce, medium to heavy TV watchers and have children (12 years and younger) in the home, continues the study. They also lived in households that had a PVR, high-speed Internet and more than one television set.
Other highlights include:
– OD was used primarily as catch-up viewing for missed episodes, and approximately 75% of OD audiences watched at least one of the episodes with someone else in their household;
– Sitcoms were most often viewed on Saturdays, dramas on Wednesdays and reality shows on Fridays;
– OD viewers were younger than the original broadcast audience for dramas, whereas the age groups were similar for sitcoms and reality shows; and
– In this study, the number of people who watched during an average minute of an on-demand episode added up to between 5–10% of the audience from the original broadcast.
Numeris measured on-demand viewing from the same meter panel that provides audience data to the broadcast and advertising industry in Canada, and the initial five month (January 1 – May 28, 2015) study measured on-demand viewing of 2+ audiences from a sampling of English programs.
