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Canadians signing up for more television subscriptions
Thursday January 16th 2014Reports of the death of television have been greatly exaggerated.
By the end of 2014, two-and-a-half-million Canadian households will actually have multiple television subscriptions, according to a prediction from Deloitte.
“People have been expecting for some time massive numbers of Canadians – and Americans – to cut the cord. And it hasn’t happened,” said Duncan Stewart, the director of research for Deloitte Canada.
The insight is one of the company’s tech predictions for 2014, which also forecasts changes in the number of minutes Canadians spend talking on their cellphones and staring at TV screens.
By the end of this year, the number of Canadian households paying for multiple TV subscriptions will be more than 100 times greater than the number of households which have cancelled their subscription.
Stewart dubs those with multiple subscriptions “cord-stackers.”
“The number of people who are paying for more than one service is up by at least one and a half million in the last two years,” Stewart said.
In contrast, only about 10,000 people have cut the cord in the same time frame.
Stewart said Canadians are subscribing to online television services such as Netflix and specialty sports websites like NHL.com. Canadians are also masking their IP address to watch American websites such as Hulu, which is not available in Canada, Stewart said.
There’s also a third category of Canadians – “cord-nevers,” people moving out on their own and not subscribing to any traditional cable TV services. About three per cent of Canadians fall into this group.
“They tend to be young. They also tend to be better educated,” Stewart said.
Despite the overall surge in multiple subscriptions, the average Canadian isn’t spending more time watching TV. The average English-speaking Canadian still watches about 3 hours and 45 minutes of TV every day.
“The average hasn’t moved, but the extremes at each end are moving. The heavy watchers are watching more, the light watchers are watching less,” Stewart said.
For the light watchers, one in five English-speaking Canadians watch a little over half an hour of TV a day, down from an hour in 2004. On the opposite end of the TV-watching spectrum, the 20 per cent of Canadians watching the most TV will be spending more than eight hours a day staring at the screen.
Stewart predicts as some Canadians watch fewer and fewer minutes of television, they will begin to sever their TV subscriptions.
“There has to be a tipping point here, where in fact cord-cutting will begin to accelerate,” he said. He pegs that tipping point as around 2015.
The Deloitte report also predicts Canadian cellphone customers will change how much they chat.
“About 15 per cent less are talking fewer minutes than they did a year ago,” Stewart said.
Those Canadians will spend only three or four minutes per day talking on their cell in 2014. Stewart said these people are likely communicating by texting instead.
On the flip side, about one in three Canadians are talking on their phone more often.
“It’s a tale of two extremes. Those who love it, love it a lot,” Stewart said.
Overall, the average number of minutes a Canadian spends talking on their cellphone has risen slightly to about 400 minutes a month.
One final prediction: the fastest growing market for new smartphones in Canada will be seniors aged 65 and older.
“Everybody else already owns a smart phone,” Stewart said.
Part of the appeal for seniors is larger screen sizes, which makes the devices easier to use.
But while more seniors are acquiring smartphones, they still aren’t downloading apps or using instant messaging as often.
“The challenge here for carriers, for device manufacturers – or for their grandchildren – is getting grandma and grandpa not just having a smartphone, but using it, exchanging messages and posting updates and so on,” Stewart said.
Source: Toronto Star
Front Page, Industry News
Canadians signing up for more television subscriptions
Thursday January 16th 2014Reports of the death of television have been greatly exaggerated.
By the end of 2014, two-and-a-half-million Canadian households will actually have multiple television subscriptions, according to a prediction from Deloitte.
“People have been expecting for some time massive numbers of Canadians – and Americans – to cut the cord. And it hasn’t happened,” said Duncan Stewart, the director of research for Deloitte Canada.
The insight is one of the company’s tech predictions for 2014, which also forecasts changes in the number of minutes Canadians spend talking on their cellphones and staring at TV screens.
By the end of this year, the number of Canadian households paying for multiple TV subscriptions will be more than 100 times greater than the number of households which have cancelled their subscription.
Stewart dubs those with multiple subscriptions “cord-stackers.”
“The number of people who are paying for more than one service is up by at least one and a half million in the last two years,” Stewart said.
In contrast, only about 10,000 people have cut the cord in the same time frame.
Stewart said Canadians are subscribing to online television services such as Netflix and specialty sports websites like NHL.com. Canadians are also masking their IP address to watch American websites such as Hulu, which is not available in Canada, Stewart said.
There’s also a third category of Canadians – “cord-nevers,” people moving out on their own and not subscribing to any traditional cable TV services. About three per cent of Canadians fall into this group.
“They tend to be young. They also tend to be better educated,” Stewart said.
Despite the overall surge in multiple subscriptions, the average Canadian isn’t spending more time watching TV. The average English-speaking Canadian still watches about 3 hours and 45 minutes of TV every day.
“The average hasn’t moved, but the extremes at each end are moving. The heavy watchers are watching more, the light watchers are watching less,” Stewart said.
For the light watchers, one in five English-speaking Canadians watch a little over half an hour of TV a day, down from an hour in 2004. On the opposite end of the TV-watching spectrum, the 20 per cent of Canadians watching the most TV will be spending more than eight hours a day staring at the screen.
Stewart predicts as some Canadians watch fewer and fewer minutes of television, they will begin to sever their TV subscriptions.
“There has to be a tipping point here, where in fact cord-cutting will begin to accelerate,” he said. He pegs that tipping point as around 2015.
The Deloitte report also predicts Canadian cellphone customers will change how much they chat.
“About 15 per cent less are talking fewer minutes than they did a year ago,” Stewart said.
Those Canadians will spend only three or four minutes per day talking on their cell in 2014. Stewart said these people are likely communicating by texting instead.
On the flip side, about one in three Canadians are talking on their phone more often.
“It’s a tale of two extremes. Those who love it, love it a lot,” Stewart said.
Overall, the average number of minutes a Canadian spends talking on their cellphone has risen slightly to about 400 minutes a month.
One final prediction: the fastest growing market for new smartphones in Canada will be seniors aged 65 and older.
“Everybody else already owns a smart phone,” Stewart said.
Part of the appeal for seniors is larger screen sizes, which makes the devices easier to use.
But while more seniors are acquiring smartphones, they still aren’t downloading apps or using instant messaging as often.
“The challenge here for carriers, for device manufacturers – or for their grandchildren – is getting grandma and grandpa not just having a smartphone, but using it, exchanging messages and posting updates and so on,” Stewart said.
Source: Toronto Star
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Front Page, Industry News
Canadians signing up for more television subscriptions
Thursday January 16th 2014Reports of the death of television have been greatly exaggerated.
By the end of 2014, two-and-a-half-million Canadian households will actually have multiple television subscriptions, according to a prediction from Deloitte.
“People have been expecting for some time massive numbers of Canadians – and Americans – to cut the cord. And it hasn’t happened,” said Duncan Stewart, the director of research for Deloitte Canada.
The insight is one of the company’s tech predictions for 2014, which also forecasts changes in the number of minutes Canadians spend talking on their cellphones and staring at TV screens.
By the end of this year, the number of Canadian households paying for multiple TV subscriptions will be more than 100 times greater than the number of households which have cancelled their subscription.
Stewart dubs those with multiple subscriptions “cord-stackers.”
“The number of people who are paying for more than one service is up by at least one and a half million in the last two years,” Stewart said.
In contrast, only about 10,000 people have cut the cord in the same time frame.
Stewart said Canadians are subscribing to online television services such as Netflix and specialty sports websites like NHL.com. Canadians are also masking their IP address to watch American websites such as Hulu, which is not available in Canada, Stewart said.
There’s also a third category of Canadians – “cord-nevers,” people moving out on their own and not subscribing to any traditional cable TV services. About three per cent of Canadians fall into this group.
“They tend to be young. They also tend to be better educated,” Stewart said.
Despite the overall surge in multiple subscriptions, the average Canadian isn’t spending more time watching TV. The average English-speaking Canadian still watches about 3 hours and 45 minutes of TV every day.
“The average hasn’t moved, but the extremes at each end are moving. The heavy watchers are watching more, the light watchers are watching less,” Stewart said.
For the light watchers, one in five English-speaking Canadians watch a little over half an hour of TV a day, down from an hour in 2004. On the opposite end of the TV-watching spectrum, the 20 per cent of Canadians watching the most TV will be spending more than eight hours a day staring at the screen.
Stewart predicts as some Canadians watch fewer and fewer minutes of television, they will begin to sever their TV subscriptions.
“There has to be a tipping point here, where in fact cord-cutting will begin to accelerate,” he said. He pegs that tipping point as around 2015.
The Deloitte report also predicts Canadian cellphone customers will change how much they chat.
“About 15 per cent less are talking fewer minutes than they did a year ago,” Stewart said.
Those Canadians will spend only three or four minutes per day talking on their cell in 2014. Stewart said these people are likely communicating by texting instead.
On the flip side, about one in three Canadians are talking on their phone more often.
“It’s a tale of two extremes. Those who love it, love it a lot,” Stewart said.
Overall, the average number of minutes a Canadian spends talking on their cellphone has risen slightly to about 400 minutes a month.
One final prediction: the fastest growing market for new smartphones in Canada will be seniors aged 65 and older.
“Everybody else already owns a smart phone,” Stewart said.
Part of the appeal for seniors is larger screen sizes, which makes the devices easier to use.
But while more seniors are acquiring smartphones, they still aren’t downloading apps or using instant messaging as often.
“The challenge here for carriers, for device manufacturers – or for their grandchildren – is getting grandma and grandpa not just having a smartphone, but using it, exchanging messages and posting updates and so on,” Stewart said.
Source: Toronto Star
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