June 23, 2016
Ad-blockers on the rise
Edentify’s latest research into internet TV viewing among our Caféstudy community has shown an increasing use of ad-blockers as viewers attempt to watch programs uninterrupted.
The IPTV in Australia tracking study interviews 600 people Australia-wide every quarter via an online survey and measures usage and attitudes towards Internet TV. The latest data, captured in April 2016, is the 10th study conducted since 2014.
The continuing increase in online viewing is bringing with it a challenge to advertisers, with one in four people surveyed in April 2016 saying they have used an ad-blocking service to avoid seeing advertising online.
Since measurement started in January 2016, ad-blocker usage has increased from 22% to 25%, while awareness of ad-blockers has jumped from 41% to 47%. While this is particularly prevalent in younger age groups, ad-blockers are being used by people young and old.
This group of ad-blocker users is more likely than the average person to own an Apple TV (19% v 11%) or Chromecast (21% v 11%) device, which shows they are looking for ways to avoid the traditional broadcast models.
ONLINE TV VIEWING CONTINUES TO CLIMB
The rise in use of ad-blocking services comes as online TV viewing continues to rise. The research shows that 30% of Australians claim to watch TV online “all the time”. This figure has increased from 17% when the survey started over two years ago.
The impact of subscription-based online TV services such as Netflix is also being seen, with 26% watching subscription online TV at least weekly.
However the overall increase in online TV viewing is not only being driven by Netflix. The free-to-air networks’ own catch-up TV services are also proving popular. In April 2016, while 29% of people have watched YouTube in the past month and 21% have watched Netflix, free services such as ABC’s iview (14%), Plus7 (14%), tenplay (10%), SBS On Demand (9%) and 9Now (8%) are also making some inroads.
The continued growth of online TV viewing is an indication that while people are watching TV as much as ever, they are watching it very differently. More and more, household conversations are no longer about “What’s on TV?”, instead people are asking themselves, “What do I want to watch?”.
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