Gamers are much less likely to watch traditional linear compared to other viewers according to a new study by Samsung Ads.
Compared to all Samsung smart TV users, gamers spend 42% less time with linear compared to other viewers. Samsung said that 74% of gamers rely mostly on streaming services for TV viewing, while 43% of those gamers don’t have a pay-TV subscription. Another 31% have a cable subscription but spend most of their time streaming.
Gamers spend just 20% of their time on linear, 28% of their time gaming and 52% of their time streaming.
That means that about 80% of the time, gamers can’t be reached by traditional TV advertising.
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“To reach the gamer audience, advertisers must shift linear budgets to CTV,” Samsung Ads in the report, entitled Gamers in the Age of Streaming. The most popular content with gamers are movies–both traditional and streaming originals. They are also fond of crime dramas and regularly stream gaming video content, including material from both amateur game players and professional eSports competitions.
Samsung said that 77% of gamers use subscription VOD and 75% use ad-supported streaming services.
Also: Samsung Ads Index Gives Streamers Insights About Consumer Behavior
"Gaming Consoles are being used for more than gaming and are offering advertisers more opportunities to connect with gamers outside their gaming sessions. Nearly half of gamers are using their consoles to stream content through Netflix, Hulu and other services—making home screen tile ads a prime opportunity to reach gamers before they enter a non-ad-supported streaming environment,” the Samsung Ads report said.
When not playing, gamers are important consumers. Using GfK data, Samsung Ads said 29% are likely to be the decision maker for an auto purchase or lease in the last 12 months, 43% have four credit cards, they are 38% more likely to travel domestically with friends, 23% more likely to dine more than 12 times at a fast food or drive-in restaurant in the last 30 days and 93% more likely to be a new technology “super influencer.”
Naturally, Samsung Ads said it can help connect advertisers to gamers. It offers advanced gamer targeting, enhanced audience targeting and analytics and insights measuring engagement and gameplay attribution for ad campaigns. Last summer, Samsung launched a Gaming Hub enabling viewers to play games from consoles or cloud gaming devices. The Hub gives advertisers an opportunity to reach gamers on their smart TV, Samsung said.
Samsung said the number of gamers on Samsung smart TV rose 21% to 19.8 million from 16.5 million in 2020. Time spent gaming was flat at 2 hours and 5 minutes in 2021, compared to 2:07 in 2021.
Samsung Ads said its study is based on an analysis of automatic content recognition data from 2021, with an emphasis on the fourth quarter, compared to 2020. ■
