223 minutes a day

TV consumption back to pre-pandemic level

The average Austrian watches almost four hours of TV or uses streaming services every day.(Bild: Drazen - stock.adobe.com)

Austria has returned to normality, at least in terms of video consumption. The 4,000 respondents in the 2024 video study used TV or video content for an average of 223 minutes a day - roughly the same amount as before the coronavirus pandemic in 2019. Compared to the previous year, the amount of time spent watching video content fell by 23 minutes and by 58 minutes compared to the coronavirus peak in 2021.

Usage among the over 50s is above average. They spend 262 minutes, well over four hours. This is still above the pre-coronavirus level (250 minutes). Among 14 to 49-year-olds, there has been a decline from 215 minutes (2023) to 186 minutes (2024), as shown by the video study, which has been conducted annually since 2016 on behalf of Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH (RTR Medien) and Arbeitsgemeinschaft Teletest (AGTT). The survey of 4,000 Austrians aged 14 and over was conducted in February by the market research institute GfK Austria.

"TV's predicted crash did not materialize"
There has been little movement in the distribution of video content used in recent years. At 77%, TV is still clearly in the lead in the overall target group. "The crash of TV predicted by many has not actually happened," said AGTT Chairman Thomas Gruber. "The picture is one of a co-existence of TV content and online alternatives in which both sides could have found their place," said RTR Media Managing Director Wolfgang Struber.

At around 67%, linear TV accounts for the majority, with non-linear use (media libraries, time-shift function, etc.) accounting for only around 10%. Gruber anticipates a further "boost" in non-linear usage, as the private platforms Joyn and ServusTV On are stepping up their presence and ORF has only recently launched its streaming platform ORF ON, which offers longer on-demand times, under the new ORF Act. Struber considers it crucial that "trustworthy, curated, Austrian content must also be easy to find on end devices".

Netflix just ahead of YouTube overall
Video usage (streaming portals, social media, etc.) accounts for 21.4 percent. Netflix now accounts for the largest chunk of this, increasing by 0.4 percentage points to 4.5% of total video usage. The streaming platform has thus overtaken YouTube, which accounts for 4.4%. Amazon Prime Video came in at two percent, Instagram at 1.3 percent and TikTok at 0.9 percent.

DVD and Blu-ray usage lost popularity. They account for 1.5 percent (2023: 1.9 percent).

Different picture for young people
A look at the younger population of 14 to 29-year-olds reveals a different picture. They now watch more video than TV. Specifically, video accounts for 53.7%, with YouTube at 11.5%, ahead of Netflix at 10.6%. Instagram (5.6%) and TikTok (4.3%) are also used more than in the overall target group. A full eleven percent fall into the "Other videos" category. According to Struber, these should also be examined more closely with regard to regulation.

TV accounts for 42.9% of video usage among 14 to 29-year-olds - of which more than 10% is non-linear. The younger population has apparently not completely written off DVDs and the like: they account for 3.4% of the video pie.

"Big screen" still in demand
The popularity of traditional TV sets, which account for 94% of TV usage, remains unbroken. "The big screen is the winner when it comes to TV content," says Gruber. Laptops or stand-alone PCs account for just three percent. Just over a third of videos are watched on TV sets. Smartphones already account for around a quarter, while laptops and desktop PCs account for 15%.

In terms of daily reach, the picture is similar to that of market share. Around 72% of the population (14+) come into contact with TV content every day. This is followed by YouTube (10.4%), Netflix (7.1%) and Amazon Prime Video (4.2%). Among 14 to 29-year-olds, one in two consumes TV at least briefly every day. In the case of YouTube, it is one in five. Instagram accounts for around 15 percent, Netflix for 14 percent and TikTok for around 11 percent.