The consumer shift to streaming TV in Australia

The Trade Desk Intelligence recently released a report on Australian consumers and advertisers choosing streaming TV in all its forms: subscription video on demand (SVOD), broadcast video on demand (BVOD), advertising-based video on demand (AVOD), channels with free ad-supported streaming (FAST), social video, and linear TV. The report shows that consumers are leading the movement towards streaming TV, citing that 2.5 million Australians chose BVOD over linear TV every week, amounting to 26 million hours of BVOD content consumed per week.

Unsurprisingly, Gen Z, often referred to as ‘digital natives’ due to their lifelong exposure to multiple screens and the online world, are at the forefront of reshaping viewing behaviours. Among the individuals surveyed who already engage with BVOD, Gen Z individuals emerged as the most consistent consumers. Thirty seven per cent of Australian Gen Z BVOD viewers anticipate ceasing their viewership of linear TV within the next five years. In addition, FAST channels have garnered attention from younger demographics. These channels provide a carefully curated, laid-back viewing experience that appeals to Gen Z’s growing preference for content discovery.

While the landscape (and the acronyms) have become more complex as streaming partners continue to enter the market, Australians are willing to follow the content by using an average of 2.3 paid TV subscriptions (including SVOD and paid TV). It has been reported, however, that they’re also keeping a close eye on household budgets; 36% of SVOD subscribers say they are open to ads in exchange for a free or reduced-cost subscription, with research from Deloitte showing that a whopping 44% of Australians claim that they are willing to consider six minutes of ads an hour for a subscription fee of $5 per month.

As these trends continue to evolve, how can you keep up and stay ahead of the changing landscape? By advertising on The Trade Desk, you can:

• Access media that consumers pay more attention to, leveraging the advantages of linear TV as a brand-building channel without having to pay the entry price of linear TV.
• Engage in omnichannel marketing beyond the living room screen across all devices, including smartphones, tablets, and connected TVs. Imagine the targeting and measurement possibilities when pairing this with other media, such as audio or digital out-of-home media.
• Reach customers the right number of times across devices with Unified ID 2.0 – an industry-backed identity solution for the open internet.
• Engage in data-driven buying similar to how you buy digital advertising today.
• Gain entry to a single access point for all the largest Australian TV broadcasters that allows you to form a holistic view of all of your BVOD buys and frequency cap across all channels and devices, creating a better experience for your customers.
• Leverage advanced measurement capabilities to help you answer questions that will inform your future strategies. For example: Did you actually reach your intended audience? What was the incremental reach above the viewers who saw your ads on linear TV? All of this measurement is available to prove the success of your total TV buy.

As you prepare to move to BVOD, here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you have a plan in place to adapt and build on your current TV strategy?
• What is your approach for effectively reaching the TV consumers of tomorrow?
• How are you set up to measure success in this future state?

Wondering about how you can better engage consumers within the evolving streaming TV landscape in Australia? Download the full report or reach out to your account manager to find out more about buying streaming TV on The Trade Desk.