Online and SVOD Outstrips NZ Linear TV

Strong growth in on demand viewing – latest audience trends from NZ On Air research 

NZ On Air’s Where Are The Audiences? research for 2023 shows audiences want their content when they want it – and that means on demand.

The latest results from the series survey Where Are The Audiences? reveal audience behaviour in 2023, and how this compares to the 2021 survey, as well as the ongoing trend since the research began in 2014.

The 2023 survey, conducted in April-May by Glasshouse Consulting, asked 1408 New Zealanders aged 15+ about the media they used ‘yesterday’.

The key observations this year are:

• All digital media continue to grow – there’s now a clear gap between audiences watching online video and SVOD,  and those watching linear TV.

• 68% use online video daily, 57% SVOD, 50% linear TV and 50% music streaming.

• On demand viewing shows the strongest audience growth of any media – largely driven by growth in TVNZ+ – which is the fastest growing of any of the sites, channels and stations in this survey (27% daily reach).
• The most popular media options for New Zealand audiences are YouTube (for video) (44%), Netflix (42%), Facebook (for video) (36%), TVNZ 1 (34%) and Spotify (33%).
• Linear TV no longer attracts the biggest audience during the traditional peak time of 6pm-10.30pm.
• Time spent using various media has also shifted – New Zealanders now spend more time using digital media than traditional media.
• The digital growth trend has now spread to the older age ranges in this survey.

• Gaming use has declined – but this may have been off a COVID-generated peak.
• Stuff is the most widely used news site while TVNZ remains the most trusted news source.

NZ On Air Chief Executive Cameron Harland says the latest data continues the trend NZ On Air has been observing for almost a decade, and that is also being seen globally.

“The future of media is clearly now on digital platforms. Audiences on demand are growing. Our investment strategy recognises this and we’ve seen some excellent successes already this year with premium drama rolled out on linear and on demand concurrently, giving audiences greater access to content how and when they want it,” said Mr Harland.

“We are seeing our local broadcasters all growing their digital offerings but another challenge is connecting local audiences with the excellent content being created for them.

“Our funding decisions must continue to be informed by robust data insights and audience research and the content must be comprehensively promoted so audiences know where to find it,” he continued.

“The agility of our platform agnostic funding model is its key strength and is now more important than ever.”