We discuss the market forces that have led media companies and distributors to transition to over-the-top (OTT), DTC streaming, how those forces have radically reshaped the landscape, and how these transitions could play out both on the individual and industry level.

It includes both linear and video-on-demand (VOD) delivered in this way but excludes connected TV, smart TV and over-the-top (OTT). Ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD): These services include free platforms like YouTube as well as those, like Hulu, that charge a subscription fee in addition to serving ads. Advanced TV: Television paired with technology that allows for new features, components or uses.

The reach of video—including subscription services—has finally surpassed that of broadcast TV. Nearly 90% of internet users in Canada had streamed some type of video-on-demand (VOD) in the month prior to polling in H1 2021. In the youngest cohort, ages 16 to 24, that share was 98.6%.

Digital video time spent: Includes all video content viewed on desktop/laptop computers, mobile devices, and connected TVs, such as video streamed through OTT services. Excludes video streamed through social networks.

By contrast, only 29.2% of internet users in Russia had recently watched video via a subscription service. The digital audio market is evolving, but radio hasn’t gone away. The reach of broadcast radio shrank in many markets this year, but time spent with radio had hardly changed since 2020 or shifted by just a few minutes per day.

Paid-for video was a major winner, as subscription services gained viewers in nearly all demographics. Though adoption of some digital devices has been slow, smart TVs are going from strength to strength as enablers of greater TV consumption overall. Almost 56% of internet users polled in H1 2021 owned a smart TV. Penetration neared 65% in high-income households and among internet users ages 45 to 54.

A lot of other CTV content, meanwhile, will remain ad-free in the country. Indeed, UK viewers are accustomed to an ad-free TV experience, and these sensibilities are crossing over into digital video habits, too. There’s clearly an opportunity in the CTV space, but it may not be worth spending too much time or money on just yet. Read Next. Sources. Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB) – UK.