Teads’ CTV Pulse Report Explores Distinctive UK Consumer & Media Insights in 2024

New UK CTV Pulse report finds that over one in five UK households have cancelled streaming subscriptions due to price concerns.

A new report from Teads, the global media platform, reveals that 21% of UK households have cancelled some of their streaming subscriptions in the last six months due to price concerns. Additionally, 14% of UK consumers say they are planning to reduce the number of streaming services they use in the next 12 months.

This means that cost of living pressures could potentially open up more room for ad-supported Connected TV (CTV) apps and subscription plans, helping people in the UK to save money without sacrificing the amount of video content available to them.

At the same time, despite the opportunities that this shift in consumer viewing habits brings to advertisers, CTV Pulse report shows that marketers aren’t all up to speed up with the advantages of CTV advertising, as over six in 10 (61%) of them never include CTV advertising in their marketing strategy and almost half (49%) don’t understand the key advantages of this marketing channel.

Dan Black, Head of CTV at Teads UK, said: “These findings do show that we, as leaders in the field, have a lot more work to do in educating marketing decision-makers about the exciting possibilities of CTV, to banish some misconceptions and show how CTV can form an integral part of any omnichannel strategy. This is especially important for the blockbuster year ahead, given that consumer uptake of smart TVs and their multi-screening behaviour indicate that CTV devices will continue to play a key role in sports and entertainment viewership in the UK.”

The research highlights that streaming sports via a TV at home is by far the most favourable option for people in the UK, with a third (33%) of UK consumers saying they watch big sports via a CTV device (smart TVs, set-top boxes or other streaming devices).

However, since most big sporting events are exclusive to broadcasters, there is a clear need for a more creative approach to advertising that can help engage with sports fans in the UK. CTV Native advertising on a smart TV home screen could be one of the best ways to effectively reach this audience via a big screen, as well as 37% of consumers who only watch ad-free content and 30% of consumers who like to watch broadcasters’ content online.

Dan Black continued: “A home screen is the first thing a consumer sees when switching on a smart TV. So, while it helps viewers with content discoverability, a home screen also gives brands a unique opportunity to reach their target audiences where they are. We, at Teads, believe that CTV Native ads, as part of an omnichannel strategy, built around people’s second screening behaviours, can create a really powerful impact. That’s why we have recently partnered with VIDAA to extend our reach with CTV native display inventory on Hisense’s and other leading smart TVs’ home screens.”

To learn more about the UK CTV market from both marketers’ and consumers’ perspectives, download Teads’ UK CTV Pulse here.