The OTT Experience: Understanding Connected Living Room Audiences

Source: Nielsen

The evolving media landscape has reshaped how consumers discover content, as more than two-thirds of U.S. homes now have devices that are capable of streaming video content. While traditional linear TV continues to expand with new channels and features, emerging streaming technology and connected devices are also making their mark. Consumers can choose to watch programming anytime, anywhere, and this flexibility is enhancing the viewing experience. In fact, Americans collectively spend nearly 8 billion hours per month consuming content on connected TV devices—such as Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire (1).

Today’s living room is a true multi-platform environment, bringing together both linear and dynamic content. With over-the-top (OTT) video content, buyers and sellers can focus their investments to engage consumers in the midst of this new living room, lean-back experience. According to Nielsen Digital Content Ratings, which provides daily measurement of total-day audiences across digital content types using metrics fully comparable to television, consumers 13 and older who watch content on connected devices spend an average of more than an hour daily, compared to 36 minutes on the computer and 24 minutes on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets (2).

Connected devices allow brands and publishers the opportunity to connect with harder-to-reach demographics, especially Millennials and Gen Zers. As content distribution has evolved, consumers’ viewing habits can vary by age and their choice of how they experience content. With networks and digital platforms creating new original content and programming, they have the ability to connect with vast audiences across multiple devices. For example, out of total day viewers watching content aired across five networks on live TV, 7% are between the ages of 25 and 34, while 19% of connected device viewers are in the same age bracket (3).

Connected devices have grown in popularity across demographics due to their convenience and optionality. Interestingly, across five TV networks, 3% of live TV viewers are between the ages of 18 and 24, while connected devices capture 8% (4). This is a major opportunity for TV publishers to amplify their content that premiered on live TV and maximize their reach by extending the programming to be seen on connected devices.

While traditional linear TV still accounts for the majority of viewers’ time spent, OTT consumption has become a significant part of the living room experience, which presents publishers with a growing opportunity to monetize these valuable audiences. With the increasing number of U.S. households using connected devices, comprehensive measurement is imperative for publishers to better understand how consumers are spending their viewing time so that they can drive revenue and provide an exceptional experience for consumers.

Notes

1. Data in this article represents a subset of publishers measured in Digital Content Ratings.

2. Nielsen National Panel (NPOWER, Reach Analysis, September 2018 Calendar Month, Live)

3. September 2018, Digital Content Ratings, P13-34

4. September 2018, Digital Content Ratings, Total Content Ratings P13+, 5 TV networks’ enabled for DCR measurement (computer, mobile, OTT), owned-and-operated properties only. OOH measurement is not included in data analysis.

5. September 2018, Digital Content Ratings, Total Content Ratings P13+, 5 TV networks’ enabled for DCR measurement (computer, mobile, OTT), owned-and-operated properties only. OOH measurement is not included in data analysis.