Streaming video subscriptions are now firmly established as a key component of the pay-TV landscape and look set to be an even bigger part of its future, says Midia Research.
With Netflix leading the way, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) is gaining ground fast said the report. While still a minority activity, SVOD increased from 24% of US consumers to 31% in just 12 months.
The firm also found that 45% of 16-34 year olds subscribe. Between 2013 and 2014 SVOD adoption grew by 10 percentage points to 45% among under-34’s. Growth was strongest among the 25-34 demographic specifically. For this group, SVOD is now on the verge of becoming a mainstream activity (ie more than 50% penetration).
That said, SVOD is growing across all ages: unlike niche subscriptions like music, SVOD has broad appeal across age and gender. Gender-wise, 51% of US SVOD users are male, compared with the male dominated world of music subscriptions where 70% are male.
“Thus even though cord-cutting may be slowing for some operators it reveals the direction of travel: incumbents are slowing, insurgents are growing,” said firm. “Operators and networks alike know that they must up their streaming game in order to compete. However, each set of stakeholders have their own end games in mind which means they are not collectively always able to put their best streaming foot forward, much to the delight of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.”