Video-on-demand strongest amongst Irish 16-to-24-year-olds

11 Dec 2014

Video-on-demand (VoD) usage is strongest amongst Irish 16-to-24-year-olds, with 50pc of them consuming streamed or downloaded video content online every day, research from Nielsen Ireland suggests.

Overall, across the board in Ireland, 28pc of internet users watch VoD content every day across a variety of devices, according to the latest research from Nielsen Ireland on behalf of IAB Ireland.

“This Nielsen study confirms the high level of VOD consumption and engagement in the Irish market,” said Maeve O’Meara, marketing manager for IAB Ireland.

“The research illustrates how VoD complements TV campaigns in delivering harder to reach audiences. Great content will always be in demand and the power of VoD to reach users on an emotional level underlies the popularity of this format for advertisers.  

“VoD advertising spend grew by 75pc in the first half of 2014 – we look forward to further strong growth for VOD in 2015 and beyond,” O’Meara said.

Will VoD kill the TV star?

Some 90pc of consumers access their content on free advertising-funded platforms.

Rather than being a threat to TV as many would think, VoD actually complements light/medium TV viewers and especially the hard-to-reach 16-34-year-old audience.

Around 45pc of 16-to-24-year-old VoD viewers claim they watch more VoD than TV.

In terms of why VoD resonates with younger demographics, 48pc use it to catch up on content they missed.

Around 34pc watch VoD content anywhere that suits them and 28pc base their decisions on content shared or recommended by friends.

Reasons for consuming VoD is down to simply being able to watch content any time of their choosing (54pc) but overall, 50pc consume VoD content because it’s free.

In terms of how VoD viewers react to advertising, 74pc accept advertising in and around content and one in two are happy to watch advertising in order to view free content.

Some 26pc visited a brand’s website or physical location after exposure to advertising in VoD, 10pc bought the brand, and 19pc shared the message via word of mouth.

Video-on-demand image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com