For the past four years, UK media regulator Ofcom has released their comprehensive Media Nations report, reviewing key trends in the media sector and tracking audience behaviours and cross-platform media consumption trends.
In a series of blog posts, we will be summarising the findings pertinent to the continued rise of streaming, and how Roku can help you best position your brand for this moment in time.
2020: A Landmark year for SVOD
In the past year, the Media Nations report found subscription video on demand (SVOD) to be the biggest component of UK households’ streaming consumption, with SVOD being used by 60% of all UK households by Q3 of 2020.
Let's explore the report's findings.
SVOD’s share of total video increased from 12% in 2019 to 19% in 2020. SVOD services, led by Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, drove most of the 47 minutes’ increase in total viewing in 2020, with average viewing almost doubling to an estimated 1 hour 5 minutes per day.
Source: Ofcom estimates of total audio-video viewing. Modelled from BARB, Comscore and TouchPoints data
According to Ofcom’s Technology Tracker 2021, 74% of households used a BVOD service such as BBC iPlayer or All 4, and 75% of households surveyed said they used an SVOD service. In comparison, 42% of UK households said they used free traditional TV.*
Moreover, research showed that 48% of online adults viewed streaming video services as their primary method of watching TV and film.** Nearly half (46%) of SVOD users aged 18-34 further stated that they envision eliminating traditional linear TV viewing from their consumption habits within 5 years.
With three-quarters of UK households subscribing to at least one SVOD service, the findings clearly indicate a willingness for UK streamers to pay for subscription services for quality programing they feel is made for them. While this experience is a net positive for streamers, the rise of SVOD poses a challenge for marketers looking to capture audiences that are becoming unreachable by traditional advertising channels.
Advertisers seeking to reach these audiences on the big screen will have to adapt strategies as streamers increase their viewing times outside of ad-supported environments, and contemplate eliminating traditional linear TV viewing altogether.
How Roku helps brands engage unreachable audiences.
As SVOD becomes increasingly popular in the UK, marketers must find new ways to engage audiences who stream most of their content in ad-free environments. The Roku Brand Studio offers solutions for brands eager to reach SVOD streamers.
The Roku Brand Studio helps create advertiser experiences and storytelling built for TV streaming with content that goes beyond traditional TV spots. With branded content, and Brand Experiences, Roku Brand Studio helps marketers to craft campaigns designed to engage audiences that traditional TV has left behind, and capture SVOD streamers at a critical moment: before they enter ad-free environments.
Roku’s Brand Experiences are customised ads designed to capture streamers’ attention as they begin their content selection journey, allowing brands to interact with and engage audiences from the Roku home-screen.
In the above Brand Experience, Schneider Electric harnessed the power of the native home-screen banner leading to a microsite with custom ad supported content for streamers.
Schneider Electric UK wanted to grow brand awareness and favorability among hard-to-reach streamers who spent most of their time watching video content across subscription video on demand (SVOD) services. The team was especially interested in connecting with audiences that otherwise wouldn’t be watching anything else.
The campaign used a native home screen banner ad leading to a microsite containing curated content on the Roku Channel. The microsite had the Schneider brand and messaging front and center, and offered a great experience for viewers who were looking for something to watch. The Brand Experience campaign increased ad recall fivefold and effectively reached SVOD streamers. You can read the full case study on our blog.
Interested in learning more about Roku Brand Experiences and how your brand can reach coveted SVOD audiences? Contact us for more information or to get started.
All data cited is from Ofcom’s 2021 report
*Ofcom Technology Tracker 2021
**23 Ampere Analysis Consumer, age: online 18-64, Q1 2021, UK. Base: 2,000.