PARIS: The use of TV on demand (TVOD) services in France declined slightly in 2013 but advertising revenues increased by a third a study has said.

In 2013, some 2,483.2 million videos were viewed via catch-up TV, a near 2% decline on the previous year's figure of 2,531.1 million, according to the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée (CNC).

That body's report, L'économie de la télévision de rattrapage en 2013, also said that there was a structural growth to the sector's advertising revenues, as both the number of advertisers and the volume of advertising was increasing while ad rates were steady.

It estimated that advertising revenues from TV on demand had grown from €30 million in 2011 to €45 million in 2012 and €60 million in 2013. While this represented a significant growth rate, Stratégies noted the total was a fraction of the overall television advertising market which was valued at €3.22 billion in 2013.

The penetration of catch-up TV had also slowed, with a 1.7 point rise in 2013 in the proportion of those aged over 15 watching programs this way. A year earlier there had been a 6.7 point increase.

Overall, 68.9% of those surveyed had watched programs using TVOD, with women slightly more likely than men to do so (69.8% vs 68.1%).

In addition older age groups were becoming more inclined to watch TVOD, with the over-50s constituting the fastest growing group of users. There was a 5.7 point increase among this age group during 2013 to reach 55.3%. Similarly, the 35-49 age group had seen a 4.9 point uplift to 70.3%.

Usage among 25-34 year olds had barely changed while there was a sharp 5 point drop among the youngest group of 15-24 year olds.

Around four in ten users (43.3%) watched catch-up TV programs at least once a week, while another three in ten (28.5%) were less regular, viewing at least once a month and a similar proportion were occasional viewers (28.1%) using the service less than once a month.

Data sourced from Stratégies; CNC; additional content by Warc staff