Video is firmly entrenched in our lives. Whether we’re snuggling on the sofa for an evening of telly or killing time on our mobiles before the bus arrives, the opportunities to watch have never been greater.
Back in 2013, Thinkbox investigated what viewer motivations underpinned the TV we chose to watch. What drove someone to watch live TV over VOD or vice versa? What needs did these video formats satisfy? That study discovered there were six TV ‘need states’.
Since then, the video landscape has changed considerably. Thinkbox wanted to revisit these need states and broaden the lens to encompass all video formats, including online.
Partnering with MTM, Thinkbox detangled the role that video plays in our lives to determine how the different video formats coexist and why viewers choose to invest their time in a range of video platforms.
Thinkbox recruited the research consultancy, MTM, to determine the fundamental needs that drive our video choices.
Thirty people were given camera glasses to enable them to capture their TV and video viewing in real-time. The camera glasses ensured that all viewing, regardless of location or screen, was recorded.
This resulted in over 150 days’ worth of analysable footage. By the nature of a camera glasses task, it also encompassed viewing from other household members in addition to the wearer’s own video exposure. Once the task was completed, each respondent was interviewed at length about their viewing choices and the motivations behind what they watched.
In addition, Thinkbox ran an online survey of 6,000 adults to map the size of the trends we observed in the first stage of the research.
Key questions we wanted address included:
Finally, Thinkbox worked with a behavioural scientist to contextualise the findings within the wider framework of human behaviour.
We discovered that the role of video has diversified since we first devised the need states model back in 2013 and the different forms co-exist in our lives. There are now eight different needs that drive the majority of video consumption.
Overall, human needs stay relatively constant and the motivations for video viewing are enduring. However, the way in which we satisfy these needs with AV content has been influenced by the development – and critically the mass availability – of technology. As the video landscape has evolved, and the take-up of smart devices has risen, our appetite for AV content has increased. Video provides a means to satisfy needs that were previously fulfilled in other ways.
Critically, Thinkbox's research allowed for the sizing of the need states (by time spent) across all different forms of video – including online; something that they were unable to do back in 2013.
It became apparent that TV satisfies the need states in a way that other forms of video struggle to replicate. Relaxation, entertainment and the shared experience are key.
Broadcaster TV content is the most likely to fulfil all need states bar one: ‘Do’. The motivation to unwind, to experience to escape and distract ourselves is fundamental to the reason why TV is, and will continue to be, so entrenched in our lives.
The qualitative work reaffirmed that broadcaster TV is a cherished, trusted and valued way of fulfilling a wide range of needs, but the development of newer platforms and services has been integral to future-proofing the status of broadcaster TV in the eyes of viewers.
The proliferation of VOD services, which now account for 10% of the average person’s video consumption, have enhanced TV’s ability to serve different needs. This is because entire series are available on demand through both the BVOD and SVOD platforms. In fact, binge-watching has become such a commonly recognised behaviour that the term entered the Oxford English Dictionary for the first time in 2018.
The take-up of online video on platforms such as YouTube and Facebook has not only enabled video to better fulfil some of the need states, but it has also driven the development of new ones.
Online video accounts for 18% of all video viewing but it generally serves different functions from broadcaster TV and SVOD services. Since 2013, Thinkbox has seen the ‘distract’ need state emerge as a key driver of online video consumption due to the prevalence of short-form content that can be watched in bite-sized chunks.
In addition, online video is three times more likely than the average video type to be the go-to destination for practical help because of the multitude of ‘how to’ guides and AV advice.
The impact of life-stage is generally secondary to overall human needs – most are universal but the ways we fulfil those needs differ with age. The research highlighted some key differences. For example, young people are generally more in need of distraction and less likely to stay abreast of what’s happening in the wider world through video.
The question lies in the behaviours which will endure versus those which are a product of age. Typically, young people have always had more time on their hands and a greater need for distraction, but the role of video in satisfying this need may well stay elevated later in life. The truth will come with time and further research.
Unwind (26% of viewing time)
The need to relax is universal. We all need to spend time decompressing and de-stressing from the pressures of the day and video, particularly linear TV, plays a major role in allowing us to do that.
It is therefore unsurprising that this is the most enduring need state and the driver behind over a quarter of all time spent viewing video content.
From a behavioural perspective, we become increasingly fatigued as the day progresses and this impacts the way we make decisions. This is true regardless of age or life-stage. (Behavioural economists call this ‘ego depletion’). We tend to favour ‘safer’, familiar options that minimise mental exertion and maximise potential satisfaction.
This explains why many of us have similar evening routines. After we finish the activities of the day, most of us eat, wind-down and go to bed. TV is a reliable and easy source of entertainment during this period. Linear TV tends to win out over VOD in this need state, where the more deliberate act of selecting something to watch can seem like too much effort.
Key attributes:
Distract (18% of viewing time)
This need state builds on our 2013 model.
With the proliferation of smartphones, distraction is now no further away than the end of our fingertips and video consumption is just one way in which we satisfy that need. The flexibility of mobile devices means that regardless of location, content can be found to punctuate the wait for the bus, the morning commute or a break at work. We can often find video to fill whatever gaps we have in our day.
This need for instant gratification is a universal trait, but for younger people – who tend to have more time to spare – it’s particularly prevalent. Video is just one way (alongside social media surfing, gaming and general browsing) to distract ourselves and generally, content that can be consumed in short, bite-sized sessions, wins out.
Key attributes:
Comfort (16% of viewing time)
Humans are social creatures and we all need to spend time with those we love – particularly our partners and immediate family. This is true regardless of age or life stage and most of us recognise TV’s role in bringing households together.
TV plays an essential role in facilitating time with the people closest to us by providing a common point of focus. TV unites households in a familiar, comforting and relaxing way. The time we spend together around the TV is often planned and usually cherished. This is especially true for families with children.
Key attributes:
In Touch (12% of viewing time)
Most of us feel an innate desire to stay connected to the world around us by keeping abreast of political, social and cultural events. Developments in video mean that the ways in which we can do this are more varied than ever.
Although TV does account for the majority of ‘In Touch’ viewing, this disparity is reflected for ‘In Touch’ when it comes to age. Behaviour is relatively comparable for most of the need states, but this one sees the biggest variation of all.
For 16-34s, online video plays a more significant role, allowing them to snack on bite-sized chunks of content without the need to watch content in full. That said, this age group will happily immerse themselves in content around topics that particularly interest them, such as documentaries.
For older audiences (45+), the reliance on TV to stay in touch with the wider world is more profound.
Key attributes:
Experience (10% of viewing time)
In many ways, the video landscape has changed beyond all recognition over the last few decades but TV remains the primary means of providing a mass shared experience. We’re hard-wired to share experiences with those around us. It provides social currency and a point of connection.
The way TV satisfies the ‘Experience’ need state has been significantly enhanced over time. Online has amplified TV’s ability to provide an all-encompassing experience as conversations that would have traditionally taken place on the sofa or over the water cooler now have no boundaries. Viewers can connect with others all over the world and they can do it instantly.
This has altered the dynamic that viewers have with the video they value the most. The desire to watch in the here and now is enhanced so people can keep up with the conversation and ensure their enjoyment of their favourite programmes isn’t compromised by spoilers.
Key attributes:
Indulge (9% of viewing time)
We all have our personal interests, passions and guilty pleasures and video content provides an increasingly perfect means of pursuing them.
As online video has proliferated, the ability to feed our personal interests has increased significantly and we can now fulfil this need state easily through a mix of TV and online video. This is true across all ages.
There are two sides to this need state. Firstly, the desire for ‘me time’ and to seek out personally appealing content that interests the individual rather than the household. Linear TV, BVOD and SVOD excel at this.
Secondly, the indulgence of personal and niche interests such as hobbies (e.g. gaming, make-up, photography) which would have been traditionally sated by books, websites and magazines but are now served easily by online video platforms, such as YouTube. This is particularly prevalent for the under 35s.
Online video platforms have also facilitated whole communities around niche interests that would probably never have been satisfied before, such as unboxing, spot squeezing and joint cracking.
Key attributes:
Escape (7% of viewing time)
There’s no denying that we’re in a golden age of TV. Hollywood stars regularly adorn the small screen, production budgets dwarf those of the past and top-notch producers turn stories into AV works of art.
The high quality of TV programming and the availability of content enables viewers to lose themselves in video content by escaping into different worlds or lives. It’s all about the strongest sense of personal engagement.
This need state is very much the terrain of the broadcasters and SVOD providers. For live TV, there’s the impetus to watch at the first opportunity but BVOD and SVOD services allow viewers to immerse themselves in multiple episodes of their favourite programmes if they so wish. This is particularly true of younger audiences who have a greater tendency to binge-watch TV content. This has, however, lead to some interesting new behaviour where the VOD destination is pushed to the top of the choice hierarchy until a series is finished. This means that services such as Netflix can be erratic or cyclical as they’re the top choice when viewers are immersed in a series, but quickly fall down the hierarchy as soon as that series has been watched.
Key attributes:
Do (2% of viewing time)
This need state builds on our 2013 model.
Occasionally, we all need to work out how to do something or to find an elusive fact. The need to seek out useful information quickly and easily is a fact of life for virtually everyone and the internet means the answers are available in seconds.
The availability and accessibility of online video (typically YouTube) means that online video now provides a more functional role for audiences than it has before. And whilst you can find videos on virtually any topic – from make-up tutorials to car reviews - within this need state, these videos are typically not fulfilling an entertainment role.
Unlike other forms of online video, channel subscriptions and personal recommendations are less influential here. Results are generated through searches and clicked on due to relevancy.
TV can play a role in this need state, (e.g. cooking, DIY and Open University programmes) but online video has freed up TV to focus on what it does best. Shows that would typically have a functional bias, such as The Gadget Show or Top Gear, have evolved to become more entertaining since online video became more adept at serving this need.
Key attributes:
The proliferation of content and ease of availability across platforms means that all forms of video coexist in harmony but each has now been liberated to do what it does best.
For TV, it’s about the high quality, immersive and trusted environment that the broadcasters offer. It’s about platforms that help the viewer relax, bring households together and connect countless viewers by providing a valued shared experience. TV takes up the vast majority of our viewing time and will continue to do so for the foreseeable precisely for these reasons.
SVOD has developed to super-serve certain needs when we watch TV. It provides a valued means of binge-watching and delving into the long-tail of TV content.
YouTube fills gaps in the day with short bites of video and is a go-to destination for practical help.
In short, the current video landscape offers a multitude of opportunity for viewers to fulfil all of their viewing needs.