- Streaming to spike by 60% because of Covid-19 isolation
- Nielsen stats find 60% of TV streaming to spike in the coming days
- Three-fourths of consumers have added additional streaming subscriptions and TV connected devices
Online media streaming is forecasted to rise during the current Covid-19 crisis which is forcing the public any many countries to self-isolate.
The impact on streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Disney+ will force platform providers and media buyers to adjust their business strategies respectively, according to a report from Nielsen who have predicted that streaming is to rise by 60% during the current global coronavirus pandemic.
While a significant number of industries - including the hospitality, sports, ecommerce and travel sectors - are among those who will see a deep and potentially negative impact, television and streaming services will be a major beneficiary if previous crises are anything to go by.
According to Nielsen’s Total Audience Report which analysed the total TV (TUT) usage during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 along with the winter snowstorm in January 2016 across the US, Nielsen found that during Hurricane Harvey a 56% jump in TUT compared with the period before, while total usage was up 40% following the snowstorm.
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Nielsen said: “Considering that consumers around the globe are already leaning into the growing ray of content options and channels, a 60% increase is significant.”
The analyst firm also pointed to viewers tuning into the latest news about the pandemic and has recorded a jump in viewing across other countries, while media companies in the US are already at historically high consumption levels, with nearly 12 hours per day being.
The same report found that three-fourths of consumers have been adding streaming subscriptions and TV connected devices, which give them even more media options.
Looking specifically at the coronavirus, Nielsen gathered statistics from abroad, comparing TV usage levels in South Korea from the second week of February to the fourth week when there was a surge in the virus.
The report noted a 17% increase in TV viewing – a jump of approximately 1.2 million viewers. During that same interval in 2019, it was just 1% higher.
In Italy, Nielsen said, during the last week of February, compared to the previous week, there was a 6.5% increase in TV viewing and almost 12% more in the Lombardy region of the country, which was the hardest hit area.
As coronavirus become a global pandemic, Nielsen found that consumers around the world are using social media more in tandem with television.
According to its Social Content Ratings data, a snapshot from January through February 2020 showed that at its peak the social conversation mentioning either “coronavirus” or “Covid-19,” there were 110,000 TV-related Tweets mentioning these two keywords.
Yesterday the BBC confirmed it would delay the changes to the UK TV licence charge for over-75s until August, while a series of events from NAB in April to Facebook’s F8 Developer Conference have all been cancelled and smaller events opting for a digital only alternative.
The UK government has been called on to help support film and TV freelancers affected by the coronavirus.
In a statement issued by broadcasting union group Bectu confirmed its plans to contact the government to lobby for insurance companies to cover freelancers for self-isolation and establish a system to cover any lost earnings.
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