For the first time, in 2023, American adults will spend more time watching digital videos than so-called “traditional” television, thanks in particular to platforms such as YouTube, Netflix and TikTok, according to a study published Wednesday by Insider Intelligence .
“People are spending more and more time watching video on their small and large screens, whether it’s a movie on a connected TV or a widely shared clip on mobile apps,” said summary Paul Verna, analyst of this American firm.
The average daily time spent by American adults watching digital videos will reach 3 hours and 11 minutes in 2023, while it will decrease to less than 3 hours for television (by cable, satellite, DVD, etc.) , according to the study’s projections.
And this only concerns adults: the trend will increase, given the pronounced taste of adolescents for online videos.
Streaming services, which are showing more and more sports competitions, are the main culprits behind this transition.
YouTube (Google) and Netflix topped the list, each capturing 33 minutes of average American adult attention each day, followed by Hulu (24 minutes), Amazon (11 minutes) and Disney+ (8 minutes).
The TikTok application, whose use has exploded during the pandemic beyond its initial audience (teenagers), is eating up market share on television as well as on streaming services and other social networks.
“If you consider only adult social media and YouTube users, TikTok has already surpassed them all in terms of time spent on each platform,” the study said.
In all, the average time spent on videos on the networks by American adults will climb to more than 45 minutes per day this year (+9.3%).
“The battle between TikTok and Netflix is going to be a major trend,” noted Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg.
“The line between social and entertainment is blurred,” she explained. “TikTok’s efforts to incentivize creators to upload longer videos, live and music are keeping users on the platform longer. Growth in time spent on Netflix is stagnating. »
Given the importance of video on the networks, Elon Musk, the boss of Twitter, is right to try to encourage the publication of more clips, in particular by creators of YouTube, underlined the analyst.
But its efforts will be “futile”, “if it fails to avoid the decline in the number of users”, she specified.