While smart television sets continue to grow in popularity among Europeans, broadcast TV networks are still the dominant content delivery platform of choice there, according to a new report from Ampere Analysis.
The study evaluated the amount of time consumers between the ages of 18 and 64 years old spend with different types of TV, including streaming platforms and broadcast channels.
In the United States, smart TVs are the platform of choice for watching TV content, Ampere found, with the average time spent with TV content hovering above 90 minutes per day, around 25 percent higher compared to time spent with TV content as measured during the first quarter (Q1) of 2021.
In Europe, time spent with TV has grown at a similar rate, though Ampere Analysis found most Europeans are spending around 60 minutes a day watching TV content. The adoption of smart TVs in Europe and the proliferation of domestic and foreign streaming services have led to an increase of time spent with TV, though most European are still watching public service and commercial broadcast networks compared to streaming service, Ampere noted.
“As engagement with streaming services continues to grow, so does the uptake of smart TVs which provide easy access to a range of platforms,” Annabel Yeomans, a research manager at Ampere Analysis, said in a statement. “As one of the most-advanced streaming markets globally, the U.S. has seen some of the strongest growth in uptake and Ampere expects this to continue, particularly among older audiences who are watching more streaming services. In Europe, on the other hand, the strength of linear TV has meant a slower growth for smart TVs, but even here they are increasing [their] share of viewing time.”
In both regions, Samsung TVs are the most-popular with consumers, but TCL is quickly gaining ground. Samsung TVs use a proprietary operating system called Tizen OS, which offers access to most popular services like Netflix, Prime Video and Disney Plus; TCL has licensed operating systems from others — including Roku and Android TV — for its own smart TV models, choosing instead to focus on the development of its free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platform TCL Channels as a unique value proposition for streamers and offering feature-filled smart TVs that are typically priced lower than the competition.
