Over-the-top (OTT) streaming services such as Netflix and Shomi are increasingly blurring the line between what constitutes online video and TV, according to new research from Media Technology Monitor (MTM).
The organization has released updated data for online video viewing after finding 10% of its survey respondents did not correctly self-identify as internet or online TV viewers, even when prompted in the questionnaire.
MTM said it discovered the anomaly when examining its spring 2016 data, which suggested online TV usage had declined in the past two years, even though the information didn’t correspond with other survey data.
“To address this discrepancy and more accurately reflect the Canadian market, we have recalculated penetration for online TV and video, as well as hours of viewing, in order to reflect all usage of online TV sources, from spring 2013 to spring 2016,” said MTM in its newest release, How OTT services blur the line for internet video and TV viewing.
MTM said confusion surrounding OTT services likely stems from the fact they are accessible via more platforms than ever including computers, tablets, smartphones and internet-enabled TV sets (Bell Media’s CraveTV, for example, recently launched on the Xbox One gaming system).
The research company said many people don’t understand an internet connection is required to view OTT services, particularly in situations where the services were set up by the likes or service technicians, friends or family members.
In addition, many TV service providers now offer OTT services as traditional channels that are accessible via TV guides on their set-top boxes.
MTM said the confusion is most prevalent among older Canadians.
As a result of the recalibration, the percentage of Anglophone Canadians 18+ who watched online video – a group consisting of YouTube (70%), TV shows or clips (48%), newscasts (47%) and full-length movies (43%) – rose slightly to 84% from 82%.
According to MTM, the “ubiquitous nature” of YouTube meant online video viewing was unchanged when the survey results were recalculated, with online video viewing hours falling only slightly to 10.2 hours in a typical week from 10.4 in the original survey.
However, the new study noted a “more notable change” in online TV viewing, which increased to 57% of the Anglophone population from 48% once all viewers to OTT services including Netflix, Shomi and CraveTV were accounted for.
Online TV viewing hours were revised downward to 6.3 hours from 6.8 hours in the prior study.
