Analyst: US video entertainment spend declines
April 6, 2018
New consumer research from Parks Associates shows that US broadband households report their average monthly expenditure on video entertainment outside of a pay-TV subscription has dropped from $29 in the past two years to $23 in the last half of 2017.
The research firm notes spending on Internet video has held steady at roughly $9 per month for several years, while reduced spending on cinema tickets and DVDs/Blu-ray discs contributed significantly to the overall decline.
“The number of overall consumers viewing video on a connected device remains steady at 92 per cent of US broadband households, but viewers are using fewer devices to access that content,” said Brett Sappington, Sr. Director, Parks Associates. “This finding indicates that consumers are starting to settle into particular viewing habits. They are focusing more on their favourite screen and connected devices and are reducing time spent on other video screens.”
The research firm also notes that many viewers want access to their OTT services through their pay-TV set-top box. Currently, one-fifth of pay-TV subscribers have the ability to access online video services through their set-top box, and one-third of pay-TV subscribers say access to OTT via a pay-TV UI or channel guide is appealing.
“Users are experimenting less with multiple connected devices, but they continue to experiment with multiple OTT video services,” said Hunter Sappington, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “Many consumers now see OTT video as complementary to both other OTT video services and pay-TV services, rather than a replacement. Today’s OTT market is much more about bundling and partnerships than it is about winning subscribers from direct competitors.”
Parks Associates’ reports – 360 View: Digital Media and Connected Consumers and 360 View: Access and Entertainment in U.S. Broadband Households detail consumer adoption of video and broadband services and their consumption and spending for digital media and OTT content. Other highlights include:
- The increasing number of partnerships between pay-TV and OTT providers is driving the number of US pay-TV households subscribing to an online video service through their pay-TV provider from 10 per cent a year ago to 21 per cent now.
- Households watch an average of 14.6 hours per week of video on a TV screen.