More than half of young Spaniards no longer watch linear television

Series on demand and on mobile phones, this is the new 'television' that young people consume. More than five million Spaniards (11%) say they never consume television and only choose online and on-demand content platforms.

According to a study commissioned by the Observatory on new consumer trends of the comparator Rastreator among more than 2,000 users (between 18 and 65 years old residing in Spain), more than half of young Spaniards (50.9%) would no longer watch conventional television or it I would do it only on specific occasions. In fact, 20.3% affirm that they never consume this type of television and only opt for digital platforms such as Netflix, HBO, Prime or Movistar+, among others.

Furthermore, more than 5 million Spaniards, 11% of the population between 18 and 64 years old, say they never watch conventional television, and 26.9% only do so on specific occasions.

In recent years, there has been a trend change in home entertainment consumption towards on-demand content platforms. Young people are the group that shows this evolution most strikingly. In fact, although 63% of Spaniards already consume television on demand, the percentage rises to 77% in the case of users between 18 and 24 years old.

Regarding the type of content, lSpaniards prefer series and movies over sports or documentaries. Even, 65% choose their content platform based on the series catalog (70% in the case of young people). Another interesting fact is the influence of recommendations from friends or family when consuming content: 69.6% of users between 18 and 24 years old are guided by these recommendations, compared to 44% of the group between 45 and 55 years old.

The tablet or mobile phone replaces the traditional television

One of the advantages that these platforms offer is flexibility, with the possibility of enjoying the content from any mobile device or downloading it to view it at any time or place, even without an Internet connection, something especially interesting for younger users. In fact, 44% of young Spaniards use their mobile phone or tablet regularly to watch series or movies, compared to 13% of users between 45 and 54 years old.

To Jesus Miñana, head of Telephony at Rastreator, states that "the way of watching television has completely changed. The user no longer sits down to consume 'what they give' passively, but now wants to be an active protagonist and decide what they want to see, where and at what time. This is even more striking among digital natives, who seek immediacy, the power to consume what they want at any time and from anywhere. So much so, that 52% of young people download content to watch later from their mobile or tablet, compared to 27% of older consumers (45-54 years old).”

By Communities, Navarra (78%), Madrid (69%) and Cantabria (68%) would be the ones with the greatest number of users consuming content on demand. On the opposite side, La Rioja (54%), Galicia (55%) and Castilla y León (56%) are the autonomous communities in which these platforms have the least penetration.