German internet TV universe grows, mobile use on the rise

There are close to 1,500 internet TV services available in Germany, with brands associated with traditional media companies and consumption via mobile devices both on the rise, according to a report commissioned by the Bavarian media regulator BLM from Berlin-based strategy consultants Goldmedia.

According to a Goldmedia survey, the 1,424 services available together produce about 194 million daily views and the number of people accessing services has grown by about 17% compared with the previous year. Every fifth video view now takes place on a mobile device, according to Goldmedia, up from 11% last year. While hybrid TV accounted for only 5% of views in 2012, up from 2% last year, some 23% of survey respondents had developed a Smart TV app.

The market share of internet TV providers has not changed much year-on-year, growing by only 0.4%. Traditional media companies’ portals and services account for 46%, with 31% accounted for by internet-only services. Corporate TV and video shopping sites account for 11% of the market, while non-commercial online TV channels account for 5%, media stores and video centres together account for 4% and video-sharing platforms for 2%.

Average viewing duration increased from nine minutes in 2011 to 11 minutes in 2012 for video-on-demand, and from 25 minutes to 28 minutes for linear online TV.

The survey respondents expect th e number of daily views to grow from 194 million in 2012 to 451 million by 2016, with video-on-demand growing stronger than linear online TV.