Global Media Intelligence 2021: Israel

Noteworthy in 2021

Internet users spent more time with live TV than video streaming, but digital video viewing grew dramatically.

• Live TV reached more than 82% of Israel’s internet users ages 16 to 64 in Q1 2021. Broadcast TV drew a significantly larger audience than time-shifted TV viewing options, such as TV channels’ catch-up or on-demand services (cited by 60.1% of those polled) or recording TV shows to watch later (54.6%). Time spent with broadcast TV averaged 1 hour, 53 minutes (1:53) per day—fueled largely by older residents; in the 55-to-64 age bracket, 94.1% were live TV viewers. Respondents at both ends of the age spectrum were less likely to watch programs via catch-up.
• Almost two-thirds (65.0%) of internet users polled in H1 2021 had watched subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services like Netflix in the previous month, compared with 61.2% in 2020. SVOD penetration in Israel still lags many other advanced economies, including France and Germany (both about 71%), Canada, and the UK (both about 81%). The relative lack of original video content in Hebrew may be one reason for this gap.
• Even modest growth in the SVOD audience helped to lift overall adoption of digital video in Israel to 92.6% of internet users, compared with 79.3% in H1 2020. Also relevant is that YouTube was included in the survey’s video category for the first time this year; that can only have boosted overall penetration. Respondents estimated that they spent 55 minutes per day on average streaming TV and other video content.