Streaming, video games and apps rise to 18.1 per cent of total TV ratings

In this 2024 that is drawing to a close, viewers in front of the TV have increased. They have grown by looking at 24 hours (the average day), but also prime time: by 0.8 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively. However, if it is true that, looking at the Auditel numbers compiled by Studio Frasi, traditional TV is holding up, it is equally evident that the tangible growth in numbers is attributable to 'unrecognised' listening.

Streaming, apps, video games, game consoles represent the emblem of a change in audiovisual consumption that for the younger generations is already a reality. It is no coincidence that from 29 December Auditel will start calculating the 'total audience': every day a single number will be provided to give the pulse of the audience, including TV, but also PCs, smartphones, tablets.

With two weeks to go until the end of the Auditel television year (the data processed by Studio Frasi runs from 31 December 2023 to 14 December this year), it is meanwhile possible to take stock of the last year without the total audience. The head-to-head between publishers currently sees Mediaset prevail, but by a whisker, in the average day and Rai in prime time (in this case by a large margin). In general, the presence in front of a switched-on television set has increased over the last two years: on the average day in 2024 there are 9.9 million, this value has grown by about one hundred thousand individuals every year. The boost to growth, as mentioned, comes above all from the 'Unrecognised' group, whose weight has risen from 16.9% in 2022, to 17.6% in 2023, to 18.1% this 2024.

"It is a growth, it is true," comments Francesco Siliato, media analyst at Studio Frasi, "but it is not an exciting increase and it is lower than expected at other times. As for traditional TV, it has grown this year - slightly, by 0.2% - but is losing 6% of its audience compared to two years ago. "In this case," Siliato emphasises, "it is a regrowth, perhaps temporary, linked to a vision of traditional TV as a safe haven to devote more time to in difficult, unexpected times with an uncertain ending. The average age of traditional TV users is 60. Data compiled by Studio Frasi show, however, that that same age drops to 42 for those who devote themselves to unrecognised viewing. And this too is a strongly indicative sign.

But what still manages to glue people in front of the television set? Of the twenty most viewed programmes of the year, sixteen are football matches, including national teams (12) and club teams (4). Among the remaining four programmes are the Sanremo Festival, which also leads 'Sanremo Start' and 'Prima Sanremo', and the wish for a happy 2024 with 'L'anno che verrà' hosted by Amadeus. Seventeen of the twenty most viewed programmes went on Rai 1 and three (football matches) on Canale 5: the Italian Super Cup final Napoli-Inter; the Coppa Italia final Atalanta-Juventus and the Champions League final Borussia Dortmund-Real Madrid. Sinner's matches for the Atp Finals (4.9 million viewers overall between Rai 2 and Sky) and the Davis Cup final (5.7 million viewers overall between Rai 2 and Sky) were excellent, but off the charts.