MTM (Media Technology Monitor) has identified five viewing profiles of Canadians based on their self-reported MTM TV and video viewing habits. The five segments are Traditionals, Testers, Hybrids, Have It Alls and Online Firsts.
Traditionals is the smallest segment of the population, one that has been declining significantly over the years from 63% in fall 2011 to just 14% today while the other segments continue to grow. These Canadians spend 90% of their viewing time with traditional platforms, mainly TV and video content on a TV via a cable or satellite subscription. They spend 29.3 hours a week with video and 12.1 hours a week with audio.
Traditionals are the least likely to subscribe to a SVOD (38%) but 53% do watch content on AVODs. A quarter of those in this segment don’t use the internet at all. Canadian news channels are important to this segment with 75% watching in the past month. The average age of those in this segment is 67, 58% being female. They likely live in a small community or rural area, have a lower income ($53K or less) and be less educated, high school or less.
Testers make up 17% of Canadians still relying heavily on traditional platforms (60% to 90%) but are starting to use SVOD and online services. They consume 29.6 hours of video weekly and 15.3 hours of audio a week. The average age of this group is 57 and have an average household income of approximately $84K. They report spending 25 hours a week online, and 80% use social networks. This segment is the most likely to watch a sports specialty channel (59%) and have high usage of both TV news specialty channels (73%) and online news (81%)
Hybrids make up 15% of the population and are similar to Testers in that they are heavy viewers, 29.7 hours viewing, and average listeners with 16.1 hours of audio each week. How they differ is in their platform usage. Their time is split between traditional (40%) and new platforms (60%), switching between the two based on their needs at the time.
The majority (88%) of Hybrids subscribe to a TV service and 94% subscribe to at least one SVOD service, although 7% choose TV My Way by not subscribing to a TV service and consuming TV content almost exclusively online. (TV My Way is an MTM category for people who do not pay for a traditional TV service.) They report spending 31 hours a week online and are most likely to own internet connected devices. They read online news (84%) and also watch news clips or programs online (65%). TV remains an important source of news for this group, as 67% watch Canadian TV news channels. With an average age of 50, this group has an average household income of $101K and 17% say they have teens at home.
Have It Alls are the 21% of the population that spends 60% to 90% of their viewing time with SVOD and online services. The majority (80%) subscribe to both a paid TV service and SVOD service. They are average viewers (27 hours a week) but are heavy audio listeners (19.2%). This segment is slightly younger with an average age of 44. They likely live in a large city, have a high average income of $102,000, and have children under the age of 18 at home (38%). Three quarters (75%) of Have It Alls subscribe to a TV service, 11% get TV signals off-air and 14% opt for TV My Way. Almost all (95%) are SVOD subscribers with 62% subscribing to three or more services, the highest of all segments, and 97% saying they watch AVOD content.
The largest segment of the population (31%) is Online First. These Canadians spend 90% or more of their viewing time with online platforms and SVOD services. They usually watch TV and video content through an SVOD service such as Netflix. They are light viewers, 21.4 hours a week, and heavy audio listeners at 20 hours. The Online First segment is the youngest with an average age of 40 and have moderate to high average household income of $97,000.
Only 33% of the Online Firsts segment subscribe to a TV service, with 8% getting TV signals off-air, and nearly a quarter being Cord Nevers – never having subscribed to a TV service. More than half (54%) opt for TV My Way, 91% are SVOD subscribers with 53% subscribing to three or more services. Online Firsts report watching 9.1 hours a week of YouTube, more than any other segment. They also spend the most time with online media consumption, 41.3 hours each week. They visit social networking sites and read online news (88%). Online Firsts are least likely to view sports content with only 14% saying they watch TV sports and just 6% watching sports streaming services.
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