TV everywhere app usage revealed

YouTube still rules when it comes to TV app usage on smartphones and tablets, but broadcasters take the lead over platforms, according to GfK research.

Research in the Netherlands shows that the TV apps from broadcasters are by far more popular than those from the cable and IPTV platforms, including UP{C’s Horizon and the Ziggo TV app.

The news app from NOS and the catch-up TV plus live streaming TV app from NPO are extremely popular, with RTL XL (coach up) following behind.

Remarkable is that table usage outperforms smart phone by factor two.

Of the TV Everywhere apps from the platforms, the Ziggo TV app is the most popular, followed by Netflix and (good old) Teletekst from the public broadcaster.

The RL Nieuws app combines text and video and is the high most popular app, followed by Horizon Go and KPN.

The figures were presented by Paul van Niekerk, Managing Director. GfK Hilversum, during a special afternoon on TV recommendation and curation hosted by Bindinc.

Tata Sky launches TV Everywhere for Android

India’s top DTH player, Tata Sky, which had earlier launched their mobile TV app ‘TV Everywhere’, on the iOS platform in November, have announced that it will now be available for download on Android. The application will be available to use in another 15 days in the country.

Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal said, “We are very happy with the number we got in the first three weeks from Apple users. The response has exceeded our expectations. People are spending a lot of time outside of homes but are still consuming videos using different screens. So why can’t your Tata Sky connection be given to you on your mobile screen? A decent broadband or 3G/4G connection is all one needs to get the experience of TV everywhere.”

The TV Everywhere app has already gotten 100,000 users since its launch and the number will only rise after its available on Android as well. Subscribers will have to pay a little over one dollar to access the new feature. The DTH platform currently has about 11 million subscribers to its name.

TV Everywhere users good for pay TV

“TV Everywhere users are ‘super buyers’, said Brett Sappington, director research, Parks Associates.

“They spend more of their discretionary income on video as average TV users, they are the Best customers for pay TV.”

There is a monthly ARPU difference between six and ten dollars. They spend 1.7x times as much on DVDs, 1.9x on cinema tickets, 4x on downlands and 2x as much on OTT services such as Netflix.

According to Parks research, TV Everywhere users are slightly younger (38 years vs. 44), and are more likely to have kids, but are similar in terms of gender, education and income.

“Income levels are the same between TV everywhere and average TV users.”