"While just a few years ago these two worlds seemed to be competing with each other, today it is clear that the reality is much more diverse," says Michaela Suráková, Managing Director at Atmedia, which regularly conducts the atmedia index survey focusing on the use of paid TV and paid VoD services and the media behaviour of Czech viewers.
Data from the atmedia index research shows that viewers loyal to only one platform are a minority in the Czech population. Forty-two per cent of Czechs watch television stations and streaming services equally often, and 45 per cent prefer television but are gradually finding their way to paid VoD services. Only 12 per cent rarely turn on the television and mainly watch streaming services. According to Michaela Suráková, Czech viewers often do not even notice whether they are watching a television station or a streaming service. "They simply want to watch what interests them. However, this does not mean that they use television and streaming equally. They often visit each of these platforms for different reasons and for different types of content," she explains.
Local content, especially on television stations
This is very clearly seen in the preference for content origin. "To simplify it, viewers go to television stations mainly for local content, while they go to streaming services for foreign content," describes Michaela Suráková. Thirty-nine per cent of viewers watch mainly Czech and Slovak content on television, while only 10 per cent of them prefer foreign titles. The situation is reversed on streaming services, with 38 per cent of users preferring foreign content, while only 15 per cent seek out local content. However, approximately half of viewers on both platforms say they watch local and foreign programmes equally often, or do not care about the origin of the content.
Viewers tend to look for exclusive content on streaming services
The situation is similar for exclusive programmes, i.e. programmes produced in-house that are only available on a specific platform. "Viewers tend to search for this type of content on streaming services rather than on television stations," says Michaela Suráková. Specifically, 25 per cent of users of paid VoD services watch mainly exclusive programmes, while 30 per cent prefer commonly available content and the remaining 45 per cent watch both types of programmes approximately equally or do not care about the origin of the content. Interest in exclusive programmes is lower among television viewers – only 13 per cent of them watch them, while 43 per cent watch mainly commonly available content and 44 per cent watch both types of programmes equally or do not concern themselves with this distinction at all.
Films and series are the number one choice on both platforms
Despite all the differences, television and streaming audiences agree on what they like to watch most – films and series are the clear number one content choice on both platforms. Specifically, 58 per cent of television viewers and 75 per cent of streaming service users watch films, while 50 per cent of television viewers and 72 per cent of paid VoD service users watch series. In terms of genres, comedies and crime dramas lead across platforms, followed by action shows, detective shows and entertainment shows.
In addition to films and series, viewers also tune in to television stations for news, which is watched by 48 per cent of viewers. "Television still maintains a strong position in content that is based on current events or shared experiences," notes Michaela Suráková, adding that this group also includes traditionally popular sports broadcasts, documentaries and entertainment programmes. Streaming services, on the other hand, are seeing great interest in documentaries alongside films and series, which are watched by 37 per cent of their users. Entertainment programmes such as reality shows also appeal to a significant portion of the audience.
Source: mam.cz