An enforced opportunity for discovery
Our experts broadly agreed that the initial period of lockdown was less a case of people adopting new technology and more about people actually having time and motivation to understand the capabilities of their existing technology: what those apps on their connected TV actually do, the fact that their mobile phone can do video conferencing etc.
Many people were discovering the full potential of devices connected to broadband. The initial phase of lockdown was a period of learning and adaptation for many, working out how to stream content to the TV, how to work Zoom conferencing, how to order groceries online. Whilst broadband penetration has grown greatly in recent years, arguably many homes have not necessarily been making the most of the potential offered by the digital pipe into the home. Lockdown saw people maximizing connected devices, connecting out of necessity.
Data from Google on search queries indicates that, in the first phase of COVID, there was a lot of demand to understand the virus, its symptoms and safety guidelines. The second phase shifted to queries about how to live life at home during lockdown: home schooling, home offices, exercise. This then shifted once again to how we entertain ourselves: our pastimes and media entertainment options.
This is also reflected in GfK data tracking online use across Europe and LATAM pre and post COVID. The pandemic has greatly influenced the average duration of time spent across different categories online. All markets are different, but broadly there was an initial increase in use of News, Communication and Public Services (information) sites as people sought to understand the virus. These categories then began to level out as the previously low performing categories of Travel, Sports and Automotive sites showed a huge resurgence. However the level of use on information sites is on the rise again. Source: GfK cross-media single source panel
In this sense the crisis worked to accelerate technology use and the further integration of online into people’s everyday lives, widening usage across demographic groups previously less inclined towards new ways of doing things, now forced out of necessity to learn new behaviors, seek out new experiences. The early evidence is that a lot of these new behaviors will outlast the pandemic.
GfK audience data from around the world shows that the initial phase of lockdown saw huge increases in TV viewing as captive audiences sought information and reassurance. This confirmed, if there were any doubt, that TV remains the default trusted medium for many, with people wanting to share the experience of seeing history unfolding with their own eyes.
Meanwhile data from GfK global markets shows a marked rise in co-viewing as families gathered around their TV sets, countering recent trends towards the splintering of audiences across devices in the home. Related to this was a rise in viewing from younger people:
Katty Roberfroid, egta
The impact of the crisis in stimulating subscriptions to SVOD services like Netflix is well documented, and Disney+ actually launched during the pandemic to huge success. There was also an uplift in viewing to streaming services from broadcasters, both catch up and VOD with a voracious demand for content.
There is general agreement amongst our experts that whilst initial viewing volumes have not been maintained, increased use of streaming services – SVOD and BVOD – will be sustained over time as many have added it to their viewing options for the first time. It is important to note how much of this activity is delivered through the TV set itself, so the rise in streaming is not necessarily driven by a migration to other devices. People were discovering the potential of a TV set connected to broadband.
Whilst providing a shot in the arm to SVOD services, the pandemic is also having an unfolding economic effect that may limit the number of services people are willing to pay for. The market is increasingly crowded and household budgets finite. As we discuss later, the ad-funded model will remain a vital part of how media is supported.
The crisis drove an explosion in self-produced content and greater usage of newer platforms like TikTok, by newer talent, as well as TV creators and talent getting content out during lockdown. It has been a massive challenge for high-end producers though, who are having to find new ways to produce quality content. The shutdown of production for an extended period will have a delayed effect on next year’s TV schedules and SVOD offerings.
We have seen a huge growth in innovative approaches to delivering content. From filmed commercials to individual celebrities. It has created so many innovative touch points with audiences that it has become an opportunity to extend reach.
Sports were largely absent for the early months of the crisis. Many major tournaments, linchpins of the TV schedules like the European Championships, Wimbledon and the Olympics, were cancelled or postponed. Sport gradually returned to television in the summer but behind closed doors and with truncated schedules. There is a question over how sustainable current levels of sports sponsorship and transmission rights can be, the longer it remains a devalued and over-supplied product. How attractive to brands and broadcasters is sport without fans? Will we see a sports rights crisis imminently as brands reassess the value of their involvement, with a knock-on effect on TV rights?
There is debate both within the media industry and more widely about the effect the crisis will have long term on the balance of global versus local players. Global players have been better placed to weather the storm and in many cases the crisis has been an accelerant for them, in contrast to national and regional media owners who have been badly hit in terms of the ability to produce, distribute and attract advertising.
Our experts acknowledge that potential shift in power, but argue that there is still a strong role for local content: not just news and weather but content which has a direct connection to people’s lives.
It is clear that moves towards greater collaboration between national and regional broadcasters, already underway before the crisis, have become even more important. There are already examples of collaboration on technology platforms, content co-production, the marketing of TV as a medium and increasing the ease of advertising on TV. Undoubtedly the crisis will accelerate the move towards alliances and in some cases actual consolidation.
While TV usage – both broadcast and VOD - was initially stimulated by the crisis, the impact on radio has been more mixed. Egta has been tracking audio listening across their markets and it is clear that homeworking has impacted on drive time, with consumption in the car falling drastically during the early stages of the crisis. It is likely that home offices will remain an increased proportion of the workforce after the crisis, which is changing the whole structure of a listening day for many and blurring the differences between weekdays and weekends. We may need to re-evaluate the classic ‘shape’ of radio listening across the day.
The platform profile of audio consumption has also been changing, with a noticeable increase in streaming live radio and other audio, including podcasts. Meanwhile longer-term changes in travel patterns could present further challenges for audio, with driverless cars having implications.
There has been a huge impact on the entertainment sector, in terms of concerts, theatre, and live events. We have seen some cautious experimentation with live streaming of events and, with the partial lifting of restrictions, some events have combined socially-distant live audiences with wider streaming: effectively, hybrid events.
There is some debate amongst our experts about how soon people will be willing to join crowds again, even after this pandemic is over, given how it has highlighted the ease of transmission of illness. It is likely that this will vary greatly by age. The spread of illegal raves in countries like the UK shows a latent demand from the young to get back to normal, but older age groups may well have learned more cautious behaviors that become ingrained.
It is still unclear how long it will take for public entertainment levels to return to pre-COVID levels, or whether indeed they ever will. It could be generational, or it may be that the instinct to socialize in crowds, which has persisted despite recent terrorist attacks and other scares, is hard-wired.
While our panel is concerned about the impact on the entertainment sector, the crisis has fostered innovation and there is some cautious optimism that hybrid events could be a model that actually widens revenue opportunities once life gets back to some semblance of ‘normal’. People will be able to ‘virtually’ attend events that they may not have physically attended even before the crisis.
The cinema industry has also taken a major hit, but again new models for the release of movies have - of necessity - been piloted. The concept of direct-to-home release of major movies has been discussed in the cinema industry for a while. The release of Mulan on Disney+ (which otherwise would have been in movie theatres) proved hugely successful in driving subscription for Disney+ and could prove to be a watershed moment. However, that was a situation where the content owner had its own distribution platform. The disappointing in-theatre performance of Tenet and the repeated postponement of the latest Bond film indicate that the movie industry has major challenges whilst the pandemic persists. Again, a hybrid approach may be the way forward.