Connected set-top-box firm YouView has revealed some insights into how customers use the platform and how they watch and engage with their favourite shows.
370 million anonymous data points – covering recordings, searches, EPG journeys, VOD and live channel viewings – are collected per day, providing a wealth of consumer behavioural data.
Analysis of this data reveals that while almost three quarters (73%) of viewers have recorded content over the past 12 months, only half go on to watch those recordings, of which almost half (46%) watch the programme on the same day.
The data also reveals that more than a fifth (22%) of viewers of Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off had not seen the series on the BBC, showing that the controversial change of channels had drawn in new viewers to the franchise.
YouView also tracked audience engagement with the BBC and Freemantle’s flagship drama, Hard Sun, for which all episodes were made available on the same day that the first episode aired on BBC One.
The firm’s data shows more than one in 10 (12%) of viewers who watched the first episode went on to watch the entire series on iPlayer within seven days of the live broadcast of the second episode.
YouView CEO Richard Halton commented: “ We are delighted that YouView now offers broadcasters the kind of advanced insights normally associated with digital OTT platforms.
“In a world of increasing choice and profound changes in viewer behaviour it is essential to understand not only what consumers watch, but also how they find programmes across live linear, recorded and VOD content.
“We expect to use this data to help broadcasters make better choices and to continually evolve our platform to help viewers find the programmes they love quickly.”
Other insights gleaned from the data include:
- When a typical YouView set top box is powered on, the three most common viewer behaviours are to tune to a live channel using the remote control, launch the Guide to select a channel to watch or to watch recorded programmes.
- 25% of all video on-demand (VOD) launches happen in the first three minutes of a box launching, suggesting planned viewing behaviour rather than impulse viewing.
- Almost 40% of all digital terrestrial television (DTT) channel tunes, lasting more than three minutes, are made via a YouView feature such as the Guide, Search or Discover, rising to 50% for IP channels. This changes depending on the time of day with viewers far more likely to tune in via YouView features during peak times when there is a greater choice of programmes and they are less certain about the schedule.
