Daily user engagement per service made a comeback in the first half of 2023

For the first time since 2021, the initial half of 2023 saw an uptick in the global Daily Average Playtime per user and service. The number of minutes the average user streams per day on each platform grew by 4% compared to the same period last year, reaching an average of just over 53 minutes, NPAW revealed in its latest “Video Streaming Industry” report.

With the exception of Asia, which recorded a 12% decline, all regions registered higher playtime per person and service compared to the first half of 2022. North America led the pack with a 41% increase, followed by Latin America at +21%. Looking at the absolute numbers, two distinct groups emerge: Europe, North America, and the Pacific are high-consumption areas, with averages of over 79 minutes of daily usage per person, per service. The other group – consisting of Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East – had less than 53 minutes of daily usage, with Asia registering only 30 minutes. The gap is most stark between the Pacific and Asia regions, with Pacific users streaming more than triple the minutes that those in Asia do.

In contrast, the global Average Daily Number of Titles per user and service dropped by 4% in H1 2023 vs H1 2022. Paired with the increase in playtime, per NPAW this figure suggests that users are watching slightly fewer titles but for a longer time. In absolute numbers, the biggest difference between regions can again be observed between the Pacific and Asia, where the Pacific recorded over twice as many titles with 4.2 compared to Asia’s 1.9. The comparison with H1 2022’s numbers shows no significant changes for most regions, apart from a 9% increase in North America and a 13% decrease in Asia.

“The first half of 2023 marked a potential turning point for the global video streaming industry as daily user engagement per streaming service began to increase for the first time since 2021. Engagement per service had been declining as competition grew fiercer and platforms and content options multiplied, reducing the time each consumer could spend per platform. A reversal of this downward trend might signal some degree of market consolidation, with consumers focusing on a select few platforms, or simply an overall increase in content consumption,”  said Ferran G. Vilaró, CEO & Co-Founder of NPAW.

●  EPISODIC CONTENT OUTSHINES MOVIES

When examining VOD content for the first half of 2023, classified by length, it becomes evident that global consumers overwhelmingly prefer episodic content (20-90 minutes), which represents the vast majority of all streamed minutes. Movies (over 90 minutes) lag considerably, while short content (under 20 minutes) accounts for only a minimal share of the overall playtime.

This distribution can be observed across all regions except for North America, where movies accounted for almost the same amount of playtime as episodic content. The Middle East is the region where episodic content captured the biggest part of the pie, with movies and short content accounting for less than 10% of total playtime.

●  SMART TVS KEEP GROWING IN POPULARITY

Big screens have been capturing the most streamed minutes for a while now – especially since technological advancements and the Covid-19 boom in sales pushed smart TV adoption to new heights, the report revealed. In the first half of 2023, smart TVs accounted for 51% of the total VOD playtime. Together with consoles and set-top boxes (STBs), this figure means that big screens captured 61% of all minutes streamed. This showcases the viewers’ preference for the traditional, full-format experience when consuming VOD content.

●  LINEAR TV: DAILY USER ENGAGEMENT MAKES A COMEBACK

Global linear TV plays and playtime continued to increase in the first half of 2023 as more consumers chose online video for live and linear content consumption. Additionally, mirroring VOD trends, daily engagement per user and service for linear TV saw a global increase for the first time since 2021. This reverses the downward trend that streaming providers had been struggling with due to the surge in content and platform options.

Awaiting future data, the online linear TV market might also be reaching a state of consolidation, with viewers gravitating towards a select few streaming platforms, or there could simply be an overall increase in streaming consumption, NPAW said.