Gaming time spent on UK Samsung TVs is still 15% higher than pre-pandemic levels, new report suggests

Report also found that Samsung TV gamers spend 80% of their TV time in streaming and gaming environments

A new report from Samsung Ads Europe, ‘Behind the Screens: Gaming on Samsung TVs in 2021’, reveals time spent gaming on UK Samsung TVs has increased 15% since January 2020 to the period ending June 2021, suggesting lockdown-related gaming habits are sticking post-pandemic.

This is supported by claims from The Economist identifying gaming as “the single biggest new media habit to be formed during the pandemic”, describing this activity as “sticky” and not declining despite the many restrictions lifting.

Samsung Ads also reported a 28% increase in the number of Samsung TVs with active monthly gaming activity in the UK between January and June 2021, equating to 58.81 million hours spent a month gaming on these devices.

UK gamers on Samsung TVs spend a lot of their TV time in streaming environments, with this cohort spending 28% more time streaming compared to all Samsung TVs in the UK. These gamers also spend 80% of their total TV time either gaming or in streaming environments.

Whilst the majority of gaming hours are spent by users on older generation consoles, UK Samsung TV users that are connected to a new console, like the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X spend more time gaming. These ‘next-gen’ gamers – those with new consoles – spent an average of three hours and 24 minutes gaming each day between January and June 2021. This is compared to those gamers with the previous generation consoles spending 2 hours 28 minutes on average each day gaming, and those with old consoles spending 51 minutes on average each day gaming during the same period.

UK gamers also spent the most time gaming on Samsung TVs compared to their European counterparts in Italy, France, Germany and Spain, with an average daily gaming time of 1 hour and 24 minutes. Samsung Ads saw the biggest spike in activity for UK gamers in April 2020 during the first national lockdown reaching 2 hours 30 minutes on average per day, and again in January 2021 with 2 hours 9 minutes per day on average.

Alex Hole, Vice President of Samsung Ads Europe, commented: “We’ve seen substantial growth in time spent gaming on our TVs across the UK during the last 18 months, reflecting the growing popularity and accelerated rise of gaming globally. What’s interesting to note is the strong overlap between dedicated gamers and heavy streamers on our Samsung TVs, creating pockets of opportunities for advertisers. Advertisers seeking to reach audiences in today’s fragmented TV landscape will benefit from carefully balancing their media plans across both linear and streaming.”