Online video now accounts for around a third of TV and video consumption for adult viewers in Hong Kong, and just over half for those under 25.
That’s according to a recent survey from media agency network Omnicom Media Group (OMG), taking stock of rapid changes in one of Asia’s most connected cities.
Four new VOD services – LeEco, MyTV Super, Netflix and Viu, all backed by deep-pocketed players – have launched in Hong Kong over the past 12 months.
The territory's first new free-to-air station in 37 years, ViuTV, also went live earlier this year, adding even more dynamism to a marketplace that had lost much of its fizz in recent years.
TV measurement and ad spend monitoring services are struggling to keep up, notes Deric Wong, OMG’s managing partner of strategy for Hong Kong and China.
“It makes media investment even trickier for Hong Kong advertisers,” Wong explains.
A revamped TV ratings survey, commissioned by broadcasters and ad agencies, is reportedly due to launch in two years.
In the meantime, Omnicom interviewed 1,000 TV and video viewers in Hong Kong aged 18-59 earlier this year to get a sense of the changes taking place, publishing the results earlier this month.
A second wave is planned later in the year.
A better understanding of demographic differences will help shape Omnicom’s media plans, Wong tells Media Business Asia.
“This will ultimately influence the way we plan for video content platform investment, as well as look into the behavior of specific age groups or audience profiles,” he says.
Increased choice, as well as the ability to watch TV and video on the go, is transforming established viewing behaviour.
Younger demographics, traditionally light viewers of linear TV, are now the biggest consumers of TV and video in Hong Kong, Omnicom found.
On average, 18-34 year-olds in Hong Kong watch 35 hours of TV and video a week. That’s four hours more than 35-44 year-olds, and six hours more than 45-59 year-olds.
Much of that additional consumption is taking place online.
Hong Kong viewers between 18 and 24 years old watch around 17 hours of free and pay-TV per week for example, compared with just over 20 hours for the adult population as a whole.
Our slideshow, spotlighting different behaviors between younger and older viewers, has more.
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