Expert survey by Publicom: Free TV facing uncertain times
Pay models like Netflix are becoming increasingly popular. At the same time, the financing model of free TV is coming under pressure because viewers are increasingly avoiding advertising.
But because usage habits are changing only slowly, there is still a grace period for free TV. This is the result of a new expert survey by Publicom. The media experts involved in the Delphinarium agree that on-demand platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Video and others are not a temporary phenomenon, but will have a fixed place in the media menu of the Swiss in the future. However, the extent to which the new digital offerings will affect the consumption of classic free TV programs is less clear. Most experts do not expect any major changes in TV usage over the next five years. On-demand portals would gain audience favor, but only insignificant market shares compared to free TV.
As far as the financing of free TV is concerned, however, the experts put a question mark. A majority believes that free TV providers, which are mainly financed by advertising, could run into difficulties. Not primarily because of competition in the audience market, but because viewers are increasingly finding ways to avoid advertising. However, they believe that countering this behavior with regulatory or technical measures (e.g., a reel ban) is not very promising. Instead, free TV programs would have to adapt their content to the new competitive situation, for example by focusing more on news and/or live sports events.
Under the term Delphinarium, Publicom, which specializes in media research and consulting, publishes the results of a survey of experts twice a year. The panel includes forty experts from leading media companies as well as representatives from advertising, media journalism, communications science and corporate communications.
