So, your boss told you to do CTV?

We have launched the second edition of the study “The New Life of the Living Room,” commissioned by RTL AdAlliance and smartclip. We hosted the show in our offices in Paris and are excited to give you a little round up of information already in this article.  

Television plays a massive part of home life. For 57% of Europeans, watching videos is among the top 3 activities they do at home.

The number of respondents who named watching videos among their three favourite home activities has risen since 2022 (all markets: 57 %, up 3 percentage points, UK: 63 % up 3 percentage points). It’s a sign that video continues to be the most important form of media for Europeans, and the anticipated drop in video consumption post-lockdown, has not materialised just yet.

More consumers in Europe are watching videos at home while financial constraints have no impact on streaming service subscriptions.

The television is a focal point in European homes. It is the central point of the living room. The demand for Connected TV devices continues to grow, live TV is still the most consumed form of content. 94 % of respondents watch video on a TV screen at least once a week, with live TV being the most watched content.

Live TV is the predominant form of content watched (69%), a slight decrease of 3% compared to last year. Broadcast VOD platforms 4%, and YouTube 3%, have gained ground. Viewing figures across SVOD platforms remain stable at 64 % across all markets, unchanged since last year when the first study was carried out. This trend is also noticeable in the UK, where 70 % of respondents watch SVOD weekly.

While the TV screen remains the favourite device to view video content, the use of smartphones has increased by 69%, which is 5% more than last year. It showed that 45% of participants use computer and 35% use tablets, which is no different from last year.

The fragmented video landscape is not particularly popular among viewers across Europe, with an overwhelming majority of 75 % saying they would like to have options giving access to all content, paid and free, from the same interface. 56% of respondents admit to sometimes feeling overwhelmed by the amount of available content.

Considering the fragmented SVOD landscape and the current economic uncertainty, European consumers are becoming favourable to advertising-funded offerings. More than half of the respondents across all 10 markets (56 %) are not bothered by ads if these enable access to premium programmes for free.

Although Europeans continue to spend on streaming, 87 % of respondents say they recently increased or maintained their video subscription budget. Just over a third of households (35 %) regularly change subscriptions based on the programmes they watch. Similarly, 33% of Europeans change subscriptions based on current offers and promotions. UK viewers are the leading spenders on streaming in Europe, on average they pay €56 per month and change their subscriptions even more frequently based on content (38 %).

Jean-Baptiste Moggio says, “the rate of digital video offerings and the impact of digital ads on the big screen have created significant buzz within the advertising industry.”

Television is an essential part of that. While it may sound counterintuitive, having a TV set at home is key for young Europeans, even more so than for other demographics. Under 35-year-olds see their TV set as a decorative object that brings people together and which livens up the living room. 83% agree that TV makes a room livelier.

Overall, compared to last year, respondents express more of a positive sentiment towards video advertising.

The New Life of the Living Room, conducted by RTL AdAlliance and smartclip, is a study based on a quantitative survey covering 8,532 individuals aged 18 to 64 across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, Providing an in-depth view on Europeans’ attitude towards video content. The results uncover the viewing habits of consumers across 10 markets, and their relationship with TV and advertising across a range of platforms.