Key pandemic TV watching habits are here to stay

And, stressed the analyst, those will not be the only changes that are here to stay. With cinemas closed down and consumers having more time to fill, viewership of premium VOD of films still in cinemas surged In July 2020, only a fifth of respondents said they had paid to stream a film that was not shown in a cinema because of Covid. By June 2021 this number had risen to a third.

In addition, there was a noticeable rush to smart devices, especially big screens, the research found that among those with a smart TV, almost 40% said they had bought a smart TV during the pandemic, that is during 2020 or 2021.

“The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way people watch premium video content – especially movies,” commented Jon Giegengack, founder and principal of Hub Entertainment Research. “When theatres were closed, they invested in platforms and devices to watch first run movies at home. When things open up, many of those new habits will remain – that genie will not go back in the bottle.” Rapid TV News