The new fall TV season brought with it a major increase in primetime viewing, especially in Quebec.
That’s according to Numeris’ TV Measurement Intelligence report, which is based on linear and streaming TV data from its Video Audio Measurement (VAM) platform, collected in the fall.
Reach for both linear and streaming increased last year between the summer and fall when new content launched. Looking just at linear, fall TV ratings increased by 10% from summer to fall in English Canada and 20% in Quebec among adults 25 to 54. Daily average linear TV reach increased by 6% in English Canada, while in Francophone Quebec, average daily reach grew by 8%.
The increase in linear viewing was heavily driven by an increase in primetime viewing. Primetime grew 20% among adults 25 to 54 in English Canada, compared to 5% for other dayparts. Quebec French-language primetime grew 39%, compared to 8% for the rest of the day. Overall linear TV viewing for teens dropped 1% from summer to fall, but primetime viewing increased by 10%.
When comparing live viewing to program playback, playback was more dominant in Quebec than English Canada. Playback viewing in Quebec increased 10% from summer to the fall, but returned to summer levels when fall ended. That trend was also seen in English Canada.
English speakers in Ontario spent 35% of their total viewing hours streaming in the fall, compared to 19.5% for Francophones in Quebec.
Younger audiences spent the most time streaming video content, primarily teens (15.1 hours Ontario weekly, 10.3 hours Quebec weekly) and 18-to-34-year-olds (14.5 hours Ontario weekly, 10.2 hours Quebec weekly), followed by those 25 to 54 (13.4 hours Ontario weekly, 9.2 hours Quebec weekly).
Mobile was the most popular device for streaming by teens last Fall, although smart and connected TV were the top device for the other adult demos in both Ontario and Quebec regardless of the month. The heaviest users of PCs and MACs for streaming is the 55-plus group, followed by 18-to-34-year-olds. Tablets were the preferred streaming device for kids.
