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Frankfurt, 14 Oct. 2020. Netflix on smartphone or laptop? It works, but if people can they’d rather watch online video content on the big screen. At 52 percent, for the first time more people watched video on demand on a TV than on PC/laptops (37 percent), smartphones (24 percent) or tablets (19 percent). This is the conclusion of the CONVERGENCE MONITOR 2020, which market research institute Kantar did on behalf of AGF Videoforschung for the first time.
Netflix has grown its position in the video on demand market as against last year. At 82 percent, the platform is the most important content provider for the approx. 18 million monthly users of pay streaming services (2019: 75 percent). In second place is Amazon Prime Video at 59 percent (2019: 62 percent), in third place is Disney+. Their streaming offerings started in Germany only on 24 March and have already reached 11 percent. “Disney+ has achieved a brilliant entry into the video market. This is an indication of how much movement there is in this market. So we can look forward with anticipation to future developments, with many providers and offerings,” says Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf, Chairman of the Executive Management of AGF Videoforschung.
This confirms trends that were already evident in the Platform study 2020-I, likewise performed by Kantar on behalf of AGF. The basis of the CONVERGENCE MONITOR is the German-speaking residential population aged 14 to 69, or households in Germany with at least one person between 14 and 69 years of age. For the Platform study a broader basis is used, with the German-speaking population age 14 and up in TV households. The differences in the study populations are reflected in the results of the two studies, as might be expected, and so they are not directly comparable. In addition, the CONVERGENCE MONITOR delivers information not just at the individual level, but also the household level, and includes a large number of other questions, such as on E-commerce and audio use to get a comprehensive view of media use.
More and more internet time spent watching video
The share of overall internet use duration spent on video content is rising steeply in all age groups. 14 to 29 year olds spend 41 percent of their time online watching video (2019: 34 percent), and 50 to 64 year olds spend 29 percent on video. The growth in use of video clips on free platforms like YouTube and social networks is also due to over-30s to a significant extent. Niederauer-Kopf: “Not just young, but also older target groups have discovered video and are driving its use. Online video has arrived in the mainstream.”
In addition to video clips, the media libraries of the classic TV providers are becoming more popular. At least monthly use has risen from 24 to 29 percent, reaching a new record. As regards the question of which media libraries they have used at least once, the public broadcasters, who have a potential coverage of about 58.471 million people, do best – the ARD and ZDF libraries are far ahead with 36 and 34 percent respectively. This would correspond to about 21 million (ARD media library) and 20 million (ZDF media library) people who say that they have used these resources at least once. Here again the TV is becoming the preferred device, and doing so rapidly. In 2019 only one in five said they had used a media library on their TV, but in 2020 it was one in three.
Smartphones and tablets continue to gain importance
The spread of smartphones and tablets likewise continues to rise. Now 92 percent of respondents have a smartphone (2019: 88 percent) and 38 percent have a tablet (2019: 35 percent). At 9 percent, older phones play very little role (2019: 11 percent). “Portable, light, multifunctional devices that can serve as telephone, TV and PC are increasingly popular, not least because they are easy to use and best meet the need to be always-on,” says Kerstin Niederauer-Kopf.
Especially older target groups are driving the use of smartphones. Among 50 to 64 year olds the share of users has grown from 80 to 87 percent, and 73 percent among 65 to 69 year olds. “Target groups that formerly saw little need for a smartphone, now seem to like the devices. There was scarcely any movement from 2018 to 2019, so the big push in use probably came from the corona pandemic,” says Niederauer-Kopf.
Method profile
Study name: CONVERGENCE MONITOR
Frequency: Annual
Institute: Kantar
Survey method: Due to corona, computer-aided telephone interviews (CATI) by trained, qualified interviewers. Normally personal, face to face interviews.
Sample: Representative sample n=1542
Fieldwork: 29 April - 5 June 2020
Population: German-speaking residential population aged 14 to 69, or households in Germany with at least one person between 14 and 69 years of age.
About AGF Videoforschung GmbH (www.agf.de)
AGF Videoforschung GmbH specializes in impartial video research. AGF continuously tracks the use of video content in Germany on a quantitative basis and analyzes the data collected. It invests many millions of euros per year to continuously refine its instruments in order to deliver reliable data on the use of video content to the market on a daily basis. AGF consults closely with all market partners, including licensed TV stations, advertisers and media agencies.
Press contact:
Juliane Paperlein
Head of Corporate Communication | AGF Videoforschung GmbH |
T +49 69 955 260-55 |