Back is the future - how TSV completes the TV moment

Saturday night TV with the whole family, watching the latest episode of a reality show with friends - TV is a social medium. And above all, it is indispensable for many. The latest study by Goldbach Media shows what makes this special TV moment so special today. What makes live TV and time-shifted viewing (TSV) so popular with audiences and so successful for advertising? How high is the acceptance of replay ads? And why is Back suddenly Future? The study provides answers.

The study makes it clear that Switzerland is an absolute moving image country. Only 3% of all respondents stated that they do not consume any moving image media. Of the remaining 97%, most stated that they watch their series, films, documentaries or sports programs on TV. This puts TV - in terms of daily, weekly and monthly usage - well ahead of social media, video portals such as YouTube and streaming services with or without a subscription.

Moving image usage in %, Switzerland:

However, it is not only the enormous reach that makes TV such a strong advertising channel. In addition to traditional reception methods (cable or digital TV), TV content can now be streamed (media libraries or online platforms of TV channels such as RTL+, oneplus, Joyn etc.) or watched via web TV platforms (Zattoo, Yallo TV). And with time-shifted TV, people can watch when it suits them best. In short: TV offers a solution for every consumer need.
TV is also social, qualitative and indispensable. Well over half of the study participants watch TV in company (59% live, 53% on TSV) - these figures are significantly lower for social media and video portals such as YouTube, at 38% each. TV is also considered to have high quality content. In particular, the content on time-shifted television has the highest perceived quality of all the advertising-driven moving image media surveyed. And when asked whether it bothered them if they were stuck on one of the channels for too long, this was the case for just under 40% of respondents for both live TV and TSV, 46% for streaming services and even 55% for social media.

Agreement in %:

Furthermore, 65% stated that they would not want to do without TSV and 61% for live TV. Even the social media users surveyed would rather keep Live TV (60%) or TSV (64%) than social media (57%).

Agreement in %: 'I definitely wouldn't want to do without (...)':

For a successful campaign, not only the reach and the environment are important, but also whether and how the advertising message is perceived. In the study, participants were therefore asked to rate advertising on the various channels according to aspects such as quality, credibility, etc. The results make it clear: advertising on live TV and time-shifted TV is perceived very positively.
52% of participants think that advertising on live TV is of high quality (48% for time-shifted TV). This puts TV ahead of (free) streaming services (43%), video portals (44%) and social media (41%). The same applies to advertising recall (live 47%, time-shifted 42%), credibility (live 46%, time-shifted 43%), entertainment (live 44%, time-shifted 41%) and trust in TV advertising (live 41%, time-shifted 39%).

Agreement in %: 'Advertising in (...) ... ':

When people talk about advertising on time-shifted television today, they usually also talk about replay ads: Start Ad, Fast Forward Ad and Pause Ad. Replay ads have been appearing on time-shifted television for over two years, making TSV an attractive advertising channel. The study shows that this form of advertising has definitely caught on with the public: a good two thirds of all German-speaking respondents stated that they were familiar with the Start Ad. The figure is 56% for the Fast Forward Ad and just under half for the Pause Ad.

Awareness of replay ads in %:

The figures for the acceptance of replay ads are even higher. More than two thirds of respondents (69%) say that advertising at the start of a program on time-shifted television (Start Ad) is okay. The approval rate for pause ads is 61% and 46% for fast forward ads.

Acceptance of replay ads in %:

Advertising enjoys great acceptance in the moving image cosmos. Around half of all respondents agree with the statement that advertising is part and parcel of the entire moving image sector. And when asked whether they would prefer to watch free video content with advertising or paid content without advertising, two thirds were in favor of the free, ad-financed option.

In Switzerland, a country of moving images, TV stands out in particular. Not only with the greatest reach of all moving image channels and a very positive advertising perception, but also with the very special moments it provides the audience with. For the study participants, the TV moment is social, indispensable and of high quality. Thanks to the different types of reception and the high degree of time flexibility offered by time-shifted television, TV offers a solution for every consumer need.

Advertising also benefits from this positive and high-quality environment. And with replay ads, which continue to gain in popularity and acceptance, TSV has very effective advertising media that ideally complement advertising on live TV. In other words: advertising in the back combined with advertising in the live promises advertising success in the future.