On the small screen there are, on average, one million fewer viewers than a year earlier. If we were to consider prime time alone – and not the 24 hours of the “average day” – the scissoring would be even greater: between the first quarter of 2022 and last year, 2.8 million TV viewers are missing.
Be careful though. You have to be really careful to recite the Deep for TV. Because if it is true that social networks, Youtube, and streaming giants are gaining ground, it is equally true that the use of traditional broadcaster content through their sites and platforms (read Raiplay or Mediaset Infinity) is increasing .
Beyond the small screen
In short, for TV it is now clear that another phase of its history has opened. Inevitably triggered by new consumer habits of the viewer-consumer who have to do with new devices to act as a “link” between content and users and increasingly substitutes, especially for the youngest, of the small screen. All this, however, risks putting a strain on the production dynamics of the sector. After all, what pleases the spectator natively accustomed to second screen it is however different from what the viewers enjoyed years ago. Going into detail, the Auditel numbers elaborated by Studio Frasi indicate, for the average day, a loss of audience for all publishers: -453 thousand spectators for Rai; -149 thousand for Mediaset; -96 thousand for Discovery; -66 thousand for Sky and -57 thousand for La7. The trend does not change in prime time: -1.2 million fewer average spectators for Rai; -383 thousand for Mediaset; -403 thousand for Sky; -226 thousand for La7 and -167 thousand for Discovery.
Who earns and who loses share
In this context, however, by limiting ourselves to understanding who did better and who worse by looking at the share, that is to say the percentage of spectators, on the average day we see that Rai lost 0.7 share points (reaching 35.9%) while the publisher Mediaset earned 1.76 (rising to 33.86%). Dynamics of the same type also in prime time: -0.46 Rai points (which drops to 37.29%) and +2.15 points for the Cologno TV group (which rises to 34.28%). Substantially stable in the share on the average day Sky (-0.06 points to 5.72%), with a minus sign for Discovery (-0.21 points with share at 6.85%) and La 7 (-0.13 with share at 4.02%). Going to prime time, Sky loses 0.91 share points (down to 5.61%), La7 loses 0.31 points (down to 5.01%) with Discovery stable (-0.03 points to 5.64 %).
As for the networks, on the average day in the first three months of the year, among the generalists, all the main ones lose spectators in absolute numbers. On the share, however, Rai 1 gains ground (+1.06 points to reach a share of 18.61%); Channel 5 (+0.89 points to reach 16.68%); Network 4 (+0.10 points to 3.81%). On the other hand, Rai 3 lost (-0.41 points to 7.15%); Rai 2 (-0.32 to 4.4%); Italia 1 (-0.28 points to 4.19%) and La7 (-0.12 points to 3.61% share). In the early evening they earn Rai 1 (+0.96 points to reach 21.34% share); Channel 5 (+1.11 points to 15.62% share); Rai 3 (+0.08 to 6.41%) and Italia 1 (+0.16 points to rise to 5.17% share). On the other hand, the share of Rai 2 was down (-0.51 points to 4.72%); La7 (-0.36 points to 4.68%); Network 4 (-0.20 to 4.28%).
Consumption of TV via the web
Minus signs, however, as mentioned, must be read against the light even with the plus signs of the digital Auditel measurements (see infographics on page). It is about the consumption of broadcaster content through proprietary sites and platforms. And so we arrive just under one billion devices used (it is a gross figure, therefore with the same smartphone or tablet that can be used several times) for 200 million hours of content viewed (the 720 billion seconds measured by Auditel) and with 1.9 billion clicks (videos of which at least the viewing has begun). Data is growing: +30.6 million devices and +31.8 million hours of content. A decline are the “streams”: 32 million less with -147.2 million for Sky and -3.9 million for Discovery.