Nonlinear viewing habits and smart TV ownership are on the rise, even in low-income households.
In H1 2019, internet users ages 16 to 64 polled in Argentina spent an average of 1 hour, 2 minutes (1:02) each day with online TV and video streaming—10 minutes more than in H1 2018, according to GlobalWebIndex.
Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services are more popular than ever. Between H1 2018 and H1 2019, the share of internet users who had watched services such as Netflix in the month prior to the survey jumped from 67.7% to 83.0%.
As a result, nonlinear and time-shifted TV viewing is closing the gap with traditional TV. In H1 2019, 86.8% of respondents had watched live television broadcasts in the month prior to being surveyed. Some 63.4% had watched catch-up or on-demand TV—compared with 56.1% in 2018. And 41.7% had viewed TV shows they had recorded earlier—compared with 30.2% in H1 2018.
Smart TV ownership is notably high in Argentina, reaching 59.0% of internet users in H1 2019. Even among respondents living in the least affluent homes, 47.9% owned a smart TV. The most dramatic increase occurred among adults ages 35 to 44. Bear in mind, though, that most of the internet users sampled by GlobalWebIndex lived in urban areas, where such habits are more widespread (see note below).
The level of smart TV ownership stands in contrast to uptake of many other digital devices. Overall, just 7.4% of internet users ages 16 to 64 owned smart-home products, such as web-enabled utility monitors, and fewer than 7% owned a smart wristband or smartwatch.
