Survey Says: People Would Rather Watch TV Shows on Computers than TVs
Preference for watching short video clips on smartphones also grew
April 25, 2017
| Video
| Media
An Accenture survey of internet users around the world found a dramatic shift in TV viewing preferences, with computers abruptly displacing TVs as the preferred device for watching TV shows.
The study, which surveyed 26,000 internet users worldwide, found a sharp drop—from 52% in 2016 to 23% in 2017—of people who said they preferred to watch TV shows the traditional way, on a TV.

Meanwhile, more than four in 10 respondents (42%) said they preferred to watch TV shows on a laptop or desktop, up from 32% last year. The number who opted for smartphone viewing also grew, but less dramatically.
When it comes to short video clips—though many respondents preferred to watch them via a laptop or desktop—the preference for viewing them on smartphones grew substantially in 2017 compared with a year prior.
For example, in 2016, 28% of internet users said they would rather watch short video clips via a smartphone. A year later, that number increased to 41%.
By and large, the digital video audience is growing, and this year the number of digital video viewers worldwide will climb to 2.15 billion. eMarketer estimates more than 62% of the world’s internet users will view digital video in 2017, up from 60.8% in 2016.
—Rimma Kats
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