The TV advertising market continues to grow, both within the US and around the world. And more and more Americans are watching a greater number of online video ads. But when asked the most important service or option for how they want their future TV or video experience, a leading 10.7% share of TV viewers from around the world said they want that experience to be free of ads, according to a study from Ericsson Labs.
The study was conducted among around 15,000 respondents (1,000 per country) aged 16-59 in 15 markets: Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, UK, and the US. All respondents were required to have a broadband internet connection and watch TV/video on a weekly basis. Almost all use the internet on a daily basis.
The study results indicate that ad-free video content is more important to the future video experience than any other single service or option, including time-shifting and on-demand (9.8%), Ã la carte TV-/video content (7.7%), and – somewhat surprisingly – TV/video content on all devices (5.9%). Advanced functions such as accessing or watching different camera angles (2.1%) and interactive TV (2.1%) were deemed critical to the fewest number of respondents.
Given the same list of features and services and asked which they would consider worth paying for, a subset of respondents from 9 markets cited excellent quality (HD quality) video first (35%), followed by ad-free content (30%) and time-shifting/on-demand services (27%).
Separately, respondents across all markets indicate that their main viewing priorities are watching good movies (66%), watching good TV series (62%) and relaxing in front of the TV, without any effort (61%). While passive viewing is important (and a leading reason why viewers watch ads), the ability to decide when to watch something rather than follow a schedule is a priority now for 49% of the respondents.
When it comes to TV subscription changes, the data shows that among a subset of markets (US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Taiwan, China, South Korea and Brazil), 23% of respondents report reducing (12%) or eliminating (11%) their pay-TV subscription in the past year, compared to 19% who have increased their spending. The percentages shaving or cutting the cord have almost doubled from last year. Within the US, 25% reported a downgrade in their spending, while 24% increased their pay-TV expenditures.
