Swedish TV Channels Lose Every Fourth Youngster to Downloading
Swedish broadcast statistics institute, MMS released a study in which it shows that one out of four Swedish youngsters downloads TV shows over the internet, instead of watching them on TV.
The results of the survey are astonishing, and confirm that TV channels are losing ground to (often pirated) downloaded content, especially among younger Swedes. Older Swedes download less TV shows, and still use the traditional TV recorder.
The survey also showed that 16-25 year-olds consume 40 minutes of downloaded video every day, and that 16-20 year-olds consume an additional 20 minutes of web-based streaming video from services like YouTube daily.
The results for LOST, Prison Break, Entourage and Desperate Housewives, four of the most popular TV shows in Sweden, are summarized in the graph below.
We got the chance to talk to the project leader of this study, Sorosh Tavakoli. He said: “We have identified a group of ‘internet rebels’, they are primarily in the age of 20-25 that show some really advanced consumption patterns. They are the heaviest consumers of internet distributed motion pictures and they are proud about it. If the ‘system’ can’t provide it, they do it their own way.”
In total MMS asked 2500 respondents between the age of 16 and 65 about their TV viewing habits. According to MMS this sample was representative, which means that the results can be generalized to the entire Swedish population.
The present findings are in line with a poll conducted for the BBC earlier this month, which also showed that watching TV “online” is on the rise. MMS will release additional details about this study in early 2007
