Connected TV is nearing 50% household penetration in Canada, and media investment has been shifting this year in anticipation of that number climbing even higher.
To take a closer look at the audience that has already made the jump, Horizon Media Canada and Blue Ant Media teamed up to explore the connected TV (CTV) preferences of Canadians. The research was conducted by polling members of Horizon’s Finger on the Pulse panel to get a better understanding of how and where Canadian’s discover content they want to watch, what motivates to keep them subscribed to specific platforms and their tolerance for advertising on those platforms.
Looking at content genre, Canadians enjoy both drama and comedy but preferences differ by demo and time of day. Comedy is the most popular genre across provinces, excluding Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, where drama is the most preferred genre. Anime is the least favourite genre across provinces, except for Manitoba, where international programing is the least preferred, and PEI, where sci-fi is least preferred.
Women prefer drama (67%), while anime is their least favourite (8%). Men prefer action content (57%) but aren’t overly fond of anime either (11%).
But looking by age, anime is still favoured by 61% of Canadians 20 to 34 years old on CTV platforms, likely due to its wider availability on platforms like Netflix or dedicated services like Crunchyroll. For 35-to-49-year-olds, 47% use CTV for its kids and family programming selection. Among Canadians 50 to 64 years old, 31% prefer sci-fi while those 65-plus (15%) prefer Canadian content.
By time of day, horror, including paranormal programming, is the most preferred genre by Canadians at night. Ontarians are most likely to watch video content at night, while Quebecers are most likely to watch in the morning.
In terms of navigating the wealth of content available on CTV platforms, 44% say recommendations from friends is the number one reason for choosing a new show. When it comes to device- and platform-specific recommendations, 69% discover content through their smart TV, with 43% discovering it through social media.
Although 30% of Canadians are willing to pay to avoid ads, cost and content will ultimately decide whether a customer chooses to remain loyal to their CTV choices of preference. The factors respondents said would keep them watching a service are fewer ads (34%), price discount (32%) and a larger library (24%). When asked what would drive them to unsubscribe, 36% said price, 25% said removal of content and 22% said the choices available to them.
Those living in PEI (71%), Quebec (45%) and Alberta (44%) are the most unwilling to pay extra to avoid ads. Users of the larger streaming platforms are less willing to cancel subscriptions, while users of niche and genre-specific platforms are more willing to cancel.
