TORONTO – While regular TV is still the video king in the homes of most Canadians, the number reporting they use the web for their video entertainment has grown significantly, says a new research report done for CTAM Canada.
The cable marketing organization’s September “In Touch” research says more than half (58%) of Canadians’ viewing time is spent with television, when the programming is scheduled to be watched. The remaining 42% of Canadians’ time spent watching are with recorded shows on a PVR (10%), via video on demand (5%), DVDs (8%), online streaming or download (13%) or some other method.
The survey also indicated that nearly half of Canadians (48%) had watched a movie or TV show online sometime in the past month.
The national, online survey of 2,098 Canadians aged 18+ was done between June 23 and July 6, 2011 for CTAM Canada by Charlton Strategic Research.
Of the online locations respondents mentioned, YouTube was the most popular (64%) with broadcaster sites next at 53%. People report liking the fact they can catch a show they missed, see one from a channel they don’t have access to otherwise – and that’s it’s free to view.
The survey also found that Netflix has rapidly gained mindshare as 93% report awareness of the brand with 11% saying they are subscribers. The survey estimates another 8% were on their free trial, raising Netflix use to 19%. Thirty percent of Netflix users in Canada say they use the service every day.
Of those who watch TV and movies online, 1 in 3 say they watch that way more than once per week, a number which hits 36% among the 18-34 year old group.
Of the cable and satellite customers in the survey, 12% said they are “very likely” to discontinue their current subscription in favour of what they can get online and from Netflix and Apple TV, the other technology specifically mentioned in the survey. (Apple TV had just 39% awareness and 3% ownership among respondents.)
Significantly, when it comes to video consumption online, the survey found Canadian consumers aren’t very aware what their ISP’s broadband bit caps are – which is an important issue given how video consumes much more bandwidth than other online applications. The survey found that 80% don’t know what their limit is and of the 20% who say they do know, they generally overestimated their cap. Fifteen percent of the respondents say they have exceeded their bit cap in the past.
“Clearly consumers need to be educated about this issue,” says the report.
To join CTAM Canada (or even be a board member) go to www.ctam.ca.
