Presto plays commuter games

A report on its customers’ use of mobile devices by Australian streaming video on demand service Presto reflects the fast rise of “commutertainment”.

Presto customers are most turning on to its TV and film offerings during peak commuter times. There is a 130% jump in viewing during 5 am and 7 am as people squeeze into trains and buses before tapering off during the working, school or college day.

Viewing kicks off again between 5 pm and 6 pm with a rise of 87%. It slows down during meal and homework times before another peak at 9 pm. Around this time, mobile access to Presto equals that of usage through internet. Other studies have shown that two-thirds of 16 to 24 year olds watch television online.

Shaun James, Presto TV CEO, said, “From the data we are seeing, it’s clear our customers are extremely comfortable using their mobile devices to access Presto to continue watching their favourite TV shows and movies.

“The prominent peaks of usage at the start and end of the traditional work day are definitely pointing to a trend in ‘commutertainment’ where people are taking their streamed entertainment with them in greater and greater numbers.

“It’s proving the point that people want to take Presto with them and continue watching the shows and movies they may have started streaming in the home on more traditional broadband networks.”

Presto, the third largest SVOD service in this country, has just announced it has scored seasons 1-7 of the US comedy The Big Bang Theory. Its platform includes The Walking Dead, Mr Robot, Entourage, Modern Family and Parks and Recreation.

Australians have waited so long for SVOD that it hasn’t been surprising that the take-up has been quick. SVOD penetration, currently at 15%, is expected to be 40% by 2019. Technology research firm Telsyte put Australian SVOD subscriber numbers as 2 million by June. It was 315,000 from six months before.

Almost one third are spending less time on broadcast TV. Almost 15% have stopped watching it, leading to worry by advertisers that their target audience is starting to drifting off to where they may not necessarily find it as quickly or interact as effectively.

It was obvious that “commutertainment” would be a rapid growth area in this country. According to Telsyte, 32% of Australian SVOD subscribers access it on smartphones, and 10% use their phones as their main access.

Presto’s new “commutertainment” figures reflect two growing trends by Australians. One is watching SVOD alone, due most likely to the multi-devices around the house. The second is that SVOD engages them more than TV broadcasts. Almost 40% in a survey reported “very high” attentiveness while watching SVOD, compared to only 20% while viewing broadcast, which is increasingly regarded in some sectors as background noise.

The rapid take-up of video streaming will see greater changes in programming – more foreign niche shows, for instance, as they top the list for SVOD. Expect also the length of TV episodes. Many viewers indulge in “binge” viewing, or watching several episodes of a TV show at once. As TV episodes are normally created for scheduled broadcasts (usually 24 minutes with six minutes for ads) we could now expect to see episode lengths becoming more flexible.

The growth of “commutertainment” would indicates more changes would also have to be made in other areas – from more generous data deals for mobile streaming to the next generation of devices having greater battery life.