TELEVISION IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHANNEL IN THE VIDEO UNIVERSE

At the Screenforce Day conference in Zurich earlier this summer, Screenforce Switzerland presented a new study Die Welt der Screens, which focused on the analysis of the devices and channels that viewers in Switzerland use to consume video content. The conclusions of the study are clear. The most used device for watching all TV content is the big screen, with the mobile phone catching up in the news segment.

The digital space for watching videos resembles a supernova. The constant evolution and the speed at which various technological innovations emerge allow viewers a wealth of choices between different screens, devices, channels, and platforms. It is extremely important for stakeholders in the advertising industry to know how the usage patterns of these devices are changing. The ability to understand dynamic developments and current trends allows content creators and marketers to effectively reach audiences in an increasingly fragmented media environment.

Die Welt der Screens study explored the world of screens

Screenforce Switzerland, in cooperation with the research institute Forschungsinstitut GfK Switzerland AG, has analysed three dimensions in its new study:

• Moving image channels: television, video streaming, YouTube, social media


• Screens and devices: TV as a big screen, desktop/laptop/tablet as a medium screen, mobile phone as a small screen


• Content and genres: news, documentaries, films, series, comedy, sports

A total of 1,501 respondents aged 15-74 in German-speaking (1,002) and French-speaking (499) Switzerland answered the questions.

Television broadcasting leads in all areas

The findings of the study show that TV is the most important video channel regardless of content format. Television (both live and time-shifted) has significantly outperformed social media, streaming platforms, and YouTube for most content. The lead of broadcast TV over YouTube and social media is particularly evident in the entertainment and documentary categories.

Live TV was the absolute top choice for news (71%), sports (62%), entertainment (56%) and documentaries (53%). For feature films, time-shifted TV was the top choice (55%), and the same was true for series (50%).

Television leading the way

When it comes to devices, the big screen leads the way again. It is closely followed by the mobile phone, used primarily for TV news content.



The situation is similar in the video streaming category. Here too, the TV set is considered more important than the mobile phone. Only for YouTube content is the mobile phone the most important device. All other devices do not play an important role.

Devices used for TV content by age

The study paid particular attention to the use of TV content devices by different age groups (15-29, 30-49, and 50+).

Unsurprisingly, young people in the 15-29 age group are increasingly consuming TV content on mobile phones, even more than on TVs, especially news (55% on mobile, 34% on TV), entertainment (53% on mobile, 45% on TV) and knowledge programmes (48% on mobile, 28% on TV). In contrast, young people also prefer the big screen for feature films and series.

Mobile phones are also becoming more popular among middle-aged people, but this age group only watches news on their mobile phones (50% on mobile phones, 45% on TV). For other programmes, the big screen remains the favourite.



In the 50+ age category, the TV does not have to worry about serious competition at all. Older people at most occasionally use a mobile phone to watch the news, but the primacy of TV is clear for all types of content.

Current developments in the use of equipment

Another topic that the study focused on was changes in trends in using devices. The survey shows that there has been an increase in mobile phone usage in the past year, both for watching TV, video streaming, and YouTube.

Although mobile phone usage is on the rise for TV broadcasting, the TV set remains the number 1 device.

Streamed video consumption is growing on all devices, with no shift towards the big screen seen on YouTube.



It is clear from developments that TV as an advertising channel is highly relevant on both the big and small screen and therefore offers huge opportunities and benefits to advertisers.

Ad memorability

The last topic addressed in the study was the research on the memorability of advertising. For this purpose, study participants were asked to indicate on which channel they remembered their favourite brand’s advertisements. More than a third mentioned live TV (37%). Together with time-shifted TV, the TV offer achieved an overall ad recall of 61%.



Respondents were also asked to rate the advertising on each channel in terms of authenticity, credibility, quality, likeability, trustworthiness, and emotionality. And the result was convincing: in all respects, television advertising performed significantly better than all other channels evaluated.

Advertisers can’t do without TV advertising

The study confirmed that TV advertising is still top of the line and successful promotion in the video universe simply cannot be done without TV. Moreover, this also applies to young target groups as the results of the study show. Television is simply there for everyone, and TV content and advertising work great on both the big screen and the small screen of a mobile phone.

Source: screenforce.ch