Nearly half of Canadians that watch online video say that’s how they access “the majority of their favourite TV shows,” according to a new survey from Videology.
The online advertising firm polled 1,788 Canadian consumers in May on their viewing habits and awareness of the standard braodcast TV schedule. The survey was conducted via online video ads served to viewers, so it likely had limited reach among older Canadian viewers and those who don’t watch much online video.
Three quarters (76%) of those polled said their current favourite TV show airs somewhere other than broadcast TV, so most online video viewers no longer have a problem accessing to their favourite shows online and no longer rely on networks exclusively.
Within that group, 37% said their favourite show doesn’t air on network TV at all, but only online.
The survey also highlighted that Canadian online video watchers are beginning to lose track of the annual network TV schedule. When asked if they looked forward to the upcoming TV season beginning in September, 39% responded that they didn’t even know the new season started in September. Almost half (48%) said that their viewing habits aren’t affected by TV seasons, while a quarter (25%) said there’s good TV all year round.
Videology provides online video advertising placement and targeting services to media agencies and marketers, so it’s no surprise they’re looking into how consumers are shifting from TV to online video, where their revenue comes from.
“Brands today have more opportunities than ever to continuously reach consumers fully engaged in top-notch programming, and the idea of a yearly ‘TV season’ may soon be a distant memory,” said Videology CEO Scott Ferber in a statement about the study. He said that it would be “interesting” to see how these trends impact Canada’s annual upfront negotiations, which concluded last month.
