A new survey from LG Ad solutions has found that the use of connected TVs is near saturation in Canada, with 88% of Canadian internet users are now reachable by connected TV (CTV).
The survey also highlighted the shift to ad-supported streaming options with 60% of these consumers using ad-supported CTV apps and channels.
The findings are part of a newly released study of over 560 Canadian consumers conducted by LG Ad Solutions to understand consumer perceptions and behaviors related to CTV.
The survey also found that 58% of consumers prefer ad-supported models of CTV.
About one in five (18%) of consumers have removed a subscription CTV service from the household in the last 12 months while 15% have added a free ad-supported CTV service during the same period, LG reported.
Consumers have indicated that a shift to ad-supported will continue as 20% plan on removing a subscription CTV service in the next 12 months while 13% plan on adding more free ad-supported services during the same period. In fact, 65% of consumers express the desire to trade off less expensive subscriptions for ad inclusion.
“There have been two recent ‘big shifts’ in Canadian television viewing habits - the first was the rise of subscription-driven connected TV, fueled by rapid adoption related to the initial onset of the pandemic,” said Tony Marlow, Global CMO at LG Ad Solutions. “And right now we are in the midst of the second big shift, the adoption of free ad-supported connected TV content. This latest piece of thought leadership shows that most Canadians now both use and prefer ad-supported models of connected TV. This presents an opportunity for marketers to provide better TV experiences for viewers and connect with their audiences on the biggest screen in Canadian homes.”
Other key findings include:
- Netflix is still king for subscriptions: When asked which subscription services consumers use, the top three were: Netflix (76%), Prime Video (56%) and Disney+ (39%).
- Targeting on content vs interest: 73% of consumers express that they prefer ads relevant to their interests while 60% prefer ads relevant to the content they are watching. When it comes to streaming ads in particular, almost half (42%) think streaming ads are more relevant and 29% say they pay more attention to them.
- Homescreen is important for discovery: 48% of consumers search for content to watch directly from the TV’s native home screen.
- Multi-tasking is common: 94% multitask with mobile/laptop when watching TV and 18% always multitask.
- Living room TV is the preferred device across content types apart from social video. 88% of CTV households say the living room is their main TV.
