veilles / 25 Nov 2015
"TV is at the heart of the video world"
IP Network and RTL Group have published the 2015 edition of Television International Key Facts, a television yearbook and interactive database, which covers 35 European countries as well as Brazil, China, Japan and the United States.
“TV is at the heart of the video world.” IP Network and RTL Group have published the 2015 edition of Television International Key Facts, a television yearbook and interactive database, which covers 35 European countries as well as Brazil, China, Japan and the United States. This year’s edition focuses on the theme “TV is at the heart of the video world.” Despite the evolution of content watching in the digital age, TV is still the audience favourite and the digital revolution presents TV with exciting new challenges in terms of content, audience measurement and advertising.
In 2014 the average viewing time in Europe continued to rise: +three minutes for all individuals
In Europe, the average daily viewing time increased by three minutes to reach three hours, 57 minutes*. This constitutes the highest viewing time ever recorded in Television International Key Facts.
Worldwide TV viewing is more or less stable at three hours, 13 minutes daily. European viewing time is above the global average, while North America and the Middle East watch even more TV at four hours, 37 minutes and four hours, 29 minutes daily respectively.
European prime time – Monday to Friday at approximately 9.15 pm – attracts 276 million viewers.
The highest TV consumption in 2014 was measured in Romania for the third year in a row with five hours, 40 minutes daily on average. The highest year-on-year increase was surveyed in Poland: +13 minutes compared with 2013 figures, for a total viewing time of four hours, 20 minutes.
In Germany, the viewing time was stable at three hours, 41 minutes; France and the United Kingdom both reached the same figure. The viewing time increased by three minutes in South Belgium, (reaching three hours, 53 minutes) and by four minutes in North Belgium (reaching three hours, 21 minutes).
Live events continue to attract large audiences
The final of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil achieved the highest-ever TV reach in Germany, with almost 35 million Germans glued to their TV sets, resulting in a market share of 86 per cent (excluding all viewers outside their homes).
Every year, major national events attract the biggest audiences: in 2014 the annual Spring Festival celebrations in China was watched by 210 million viewers and the Super Bowl was watched by 113 million US-Americans.Equipment: New devices are increasingly common in today’s househoulds
In Europe, smartphone penetration rose to 67 per cent (2013: 53 per cent). In Denmark, Finland and Estonia, the rate already achieved the 100 per cent mark.
Programming trends: Innovations and social experiments
Fiction: two trends have established themselves in drama series.Local series and productions are increasingly popular: e.g. Deutschland 83 (RTL Television), Broadchurch (ITV) and Refugiados (Antena 3). Dark and disturbing productions, often based on true events, are multiplying all around the world: e.g. The Missing (UK) and Under Suspicion (Spain). Historical themes are also increasingly popular.
Televised social experiments are flourishing. People are thrown into unusual situations, often without any prize money to win: e.g. Ja Jan (Belgium), Klædt af (Denmark) and 10,000 BC (UK), a BBC production.
Technical innovations in the documentary sector have revived the genre. Thanks to 3D, 4K or 8K pictures, programmes about nature and the animal kingdom have had a new lease on life.
Entertainment constantly renews itself. While the historically strong talent and reality formats (Got Talent, Your Face Sounds Familiar, The Voice) keep attracting very large audiences, unusual, weird and funny new concepts have been brought to existence in productions such as Popster, Skin Wars, Man v Fly, Wild Things and Labor Games.To order a copy of Television International Key Facts, please click here.*Figures for all individuals unless stated otherwise.
29 September 2015 – RTL Group / IP Network, Luxembourg