Australian TV viewing behaviours mirroring global trends

• Australian’s TV viewing behaviors are changing with 38 percent of Australians choosing to download or stream TV or video on demand and more than half are watching content on a laptop, smartphone or tablet.
• Ericsson findings show that 44 percent of Australians also using social networking whilst watching TV/Video content.
• One in five Australians’ choice of a TV series, shows and movies is influenced by their social network friends.

Whilst traditional broadcast TV is still the most common method used to watch TV in Australia, Ericsson studies show that new habits are taking hold for Australian consumers and these reflect behaviours of consumers across the globe.

“The Ericsson ConsumerLab Analytical Platform 2012* showed that 38 percent of Australians are choosing on demand TV and video content on a weekly basis and over half (51 percent) are choosing to watch downloaded content on a mobile device, such as laptop, smartphone or tablet,” Selina O’Connor, Communications Manager Australia and New Zealand said today.

“These devices are also allowing viewers to engage in social networking whilst watching TV and 44 percent of Australians are doing just this,” Ms O’Connor said.

Australian habits are on trend with the global consumer behaviours as highlighted in the 2012 Ericsson ConsumerLab TV and Video study, which shows that social TV is exploding and that mobile devices are an increasingly important part of the TV experience.

Participating on social networking whilst watching TV is changing the way viewing choices are made. Ericsson’s Australian research has found that at least once a week 20 percent will choose video and TV content based on recommendations of others from social networking sites. Further, 14 percent will post or recommend a movie or TV show to watch via social media at least once a week.

“One area where Australian consumers are lagging behind the global trends is in watching TV on the go. In Australia, watching live TV on mobile phones is relatively uncommon, with only 10 percent indicating they currently do so,” said Ms O’Connor.

“However, over the next 12 months we expect this to change to 1 in every 5 Australians. When considered in light of global TV trends, there is a potential growth for watching TV on mobile devices in the near future.

“With evidence showing that Australian consumers are choosing TV from a number of sources and watching it on a number of devices, there is an opportunity to provide an easy to use, aggregated service, which can allow consumers to mix on-demand and linear TV including live content, facilitate content discovery, leverage the value of social TV and provide seamless access across devices,” Ms O’Connor said.

NOTES TO EDITORS
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Selina O’Connor Communications Manager, Australia and New Zealand
Phone: +61 2 911 4836
Mobile: +61 467 787970
E-mail: selina.o.connor@ericsson.com