Colombia. The Communications Regulation Commission released the study of television habits and uses in Colombia, carried out during 2015 in 16 capital cities with the firm YanHaas, in order to analyze audiovisual markets and identify possible failures in this sector.
The survey carried out in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Pereira, Pasto, Manizales, Villavicencio, Montería, Quibdó, Leticia and San Andrés, reveals that for users community TV (closed television service provided by organized communities) is a service comparable to subscription TV (in terms of channels and content) and, therefore, these two services are part of the same economic market.
The asymmetry found between subscription television and community TV contrasts with the little importance or ignorance of the respondents in front of the social or community content that the latter must offer.
When choosing a subscription TV service, users take into account: the value of the plan and the inclusion of open national channels. Viewers demand content from sports, movies and other entertainment lines, as well as national information and news from their daily environment. Adoption of packages with premium content and HD channels is low.
According to the consumption dynamics of the surveyed population, the services and content transmitted through the Internet (OTT), do not have in Colombia the penetration they reach in other countries. 25.8% of those consulted alternate the consumption of traditional television with video and online transmission.
The study of television habits and uses in Colombia carried out by the CRC and YanHaas, has been put to the consideration of the National Television Authority (ANTV), as an input for the review of the different modalities of service provision, as well as their obligations and regulatory burdens.
Some relevant data from the study
- 82.3% of the users consulted contract the television service, either with subscription TV operators or through community TV, while 16.7% access by other means and 1.1% do not watch television.
- There is a complementary relationship between open channels and subscription TV: for viewers it is very important to have the channels open in their pay-TV operator, and the open channels depend to a large extent on the audience generated through subscription television and community TV.
- Users do not identify differences between the subscription TV service and the community TV service.
- 66.6% of respondents have Internet at home, but only 2.7% of people watch audio-visual content mainly through this medium.
- The main content viewed on the Internet is free and user-generated, the most used website for this purpose is YouTube.
