Samba TV has released its State of Viewership report covering Australia’s viewing habits, TV trends and linear and over-the-top (OTT) advertising in the first half of 2023.
The smart TV ad data analytics company report highlighted several key takeaways from its findings, including a significant correlation between binge-watching and customer loyalty and the different viewing trends on streaming services and linear TV.
Emergence TV consumption habits
As a result of changes in streaming platform offerings, as well as OTT and BVOD consumption rising, the emergence of new habits around TV consumption. Samba TV noted that the way viewers engage with TV is always changing and found linear numbers are trending down with Australians turning to streaming platforms.
“Advertisers relying on linear to reach audiences should look to BVOD and streaming to engage consumers that have shifted away,” the report noted.
Though more Australian households have streaming services, the Samba TV data indicated that consumers are budget-conscious and unwilling to maintain endless subscriptions. It noted that 75% of homes watch content across two or fewer streaming services and that consumers were likely to watch only a few services over six months.
“With streaming platforms like Netflix and soon Disney+ adopting AVOD models, it’s likely that consumer behaviour will continue to shift in coming months as viewers customise their viewing experiences, cycling through paid streaming services while they supplement their content bundles with a variety of AVOD and BVOD services,” the report said.
TV Trends and what works for audiences
Samba TV’s report also highlighted the different release models between the streamers, with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video opting for the bulk or multi-part drop as Disney+ and AppleTV+ favour weekly episode releases. Meanwhile, local streaming platforms, BINGE and Stan, opt for a hybrid approach to release models.
The smart TV ad data analytics company noted that Australians were quick to jump on board and binge new shows this year, with over half of viewers watching new releases within the first five days.
“Many of the most binged shows were miniseries with three or four episodes, led by Netflix’s American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing. Longer shows with previous seasons or iterations, such as That ‘90s Show, had a high share of bingers tuning in as well,” the report noted.
How bingeable shows equate to higher audience retention
Samba TV noted that the freedom audiences have to binge their shows means they are more likely to finish the whole season and that retention is higher.
“The average retention between season premiere and finale across bulk releases was 41%, compared with 36% across shows that released weekly episodes.
“For advertisers, the takeaway is clear: bingeable shows with high audience retention means a captive way to reach consumers who will be home for a few hours and available to order delivery, shop online, and browse websites.”
The report found that during the first half of 2023, original streaming shows were a bit hit with audiences, including The Last of Us, Beef, The Night Agent and Succession, which are being watched quickly.
Meanwhile, for linear TV, tentpole events such as the State of Origin, the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla and the Australian Open men’s final brought audiences back to free-to-air channels.
Linear & OTT Advertising
Data from the Samba TV report also found that half of the linear TV viewers see the vast majority of ads (89%), while the other half of viewers, who consume the least linear TV, see just 11% of ad impressions.
“While that bottom 50% of Australian households were underreached or not reached at all, those heavy linear viewers who make up the upper half were bombarded by 70 TV ads daily, driving costly ad fatigue,” the report noted.
The report added: “Comprehensive, omniscreen measurement is essential to manage reach and frequency across the new opportunities that OTT presents.”