Swiss see time-shifted TV as the biggest advantage of TV streaming

In terms of TV reception channels, the trend of recent years is continuing. Already 61 percent of online viewers in Switzerland use the Internet as their TV reception channel. This includes both IPTV offerings and TV streaming apps. That is five percentage points more than in the previous year.

It can be seen that French-speaking Swiss Internet users are more likely to use the Internet as a TV reception channel (68 percent) than German-speaking Internet users (59 percent). Cable reception, on the other hand, is losing ground significantly compared to 2021. Only 40 percent of Swiss Internet users still receive their TV via cable. In the previous year, this figure was 51 percent. The Internet thus remains the most widely used TV reception channel in Switzerland and continues to expand its lead. Reception via satellite (7 percent) and DVB-T (3 percent) also lost two percentage points each.

Live TV usage on the Internet increases slightly

In the second year of the Corona pandemic, 42 percent of online users watch live TV via the Internet. This is two percentage points more than in the previous year and eight percentage points more than in 2020. At 60 percent, French-speaking Internet users watch significantly more live TV than German-speaking users, where the figure is just 36 percent.

The increase in live TV use in the last two years goes against the declining trend that was still evident before the Corona pandemic. This makes live TV the most-used TV and video service on the Internet for the Swiss* directly after YouTube. Although YouTube usage has fallen from 66 percent in 2021 to just 58 percent in 2022, the video portal remains the most popular TV service on the Internet.

The broadcasters' media libraries are used by 21 percent of online users in Switzerland. This is three percentage points less than in 2021. Looking at the individual platforms, only Play SRF can show a slight increase of two percentage points to 53 percent this year and thus remains the most used among media library users in Switzerland.

All other media libraries lose percentage points compared to the previous year. The ARD Mediathek in particular drops from 38 percent in 2021 to just 30 percent in 2022. The ProSieben (21 percent) and Sat.1 (18 percent) Mediathek also lose six and five percentage points respectively compared to the previous year.

Video-on-demand can only increase slightly this year from 23 percent in 2021 to 24 percent. Among the individual providers, Netflix in particular will see a strong increase of eleven percentage points in Switzerland and will thus remain the most popular video-on-demand service in Switzerland with 79 percent. Disney+ will also make a big leap this year, from 20 percent in 2021 to 27 percent in 2022, while Blue Play and Play Suisse, new additions this year, will start at 15 and 18 percent respectively.

For the first time this year, the survey also asked about the use of moving image offerings via social media. These landed at 17 percent in the first year of the survey.

TV streaming use on smart TVs increases, mobile use decreases

79 percent of Internet users who watch TV at least once a week already use TV streaming services. When asked on which devices TV streaming services are used most, smart TVs are in the lead this year, landing in first place. Almost every second TV streaming user (49 percent) watches on a smart TV. That's four percentage points more than last year, continuing the trend of recent years toward more use on the big screen. Even though PCs and laptops have grown by one percentage point compared to 2021, they cannot keep up with the development of smart TVs and come in at only 46 percent this year.

By contrast, usage via smartphones is declining this year and ends up at 40 percent, down four percentage points. This is followed by tablets with 27 percent, streaming devices with 12 percent and game consoles with 6 percent.

Time-shifted TV as the most important advantage of TV streaming

For 42 percent of Swiss TV streaming users, and thus for the majority, time-shifted TV is the most important advantage of TV streaming services. With an increase of six percentage points, this advantage is the strongest in comparison to the others. The previously most important advantage, availability on many devices, lands close behind in second place with 41 percent. Television while traveling remains in third place with 35 percent. It is followed by the advantage of saving money compared with other offerings (32 percent) and ease of installation (29 percent).

French-speaking TV streaming users rate time-shifted TV the lowest. For just 29 percent, this represents an advantage over other TV offerings. For German speakers, on the other hand, the figure is significantly higher at 47 percent. There is also a big difference when it comes to watching TV while traveling. Among German-speaking TV streaming users, this is an advantage for just 32 percent, compared with 41 percent of French-speaking users.

The Zattoo TV Streaming Report 2022 is based on a survey that has been conducted annually by Kantar on behalf of Zattoo since 2015. This year, 800 Swiss Internet users between the ages of 16 and 69 were surveyed.