Research: 12% 18-34s ‘virtual’ pay-TV subs
April 9, 2018
New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group indicates that 18-34 year-olds account for 53 per cent of adults in the US that have a live streaming Internet-delivered pay-TV service (such as Sling TV, DirecTV NOW, PlayStation Vue, Hulu with Live TV, or You Tube TV). Overall, 11 per cent of adults ages 18-44 currently have an Internet-delivered pay-TV service — compared to 3 per cent of ages 45 and above.
Among all that have an Internet-delivered pay-TV service, 93 per cent also have a subscription video on-Demand (SVoD) service from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and/or Hulu. Additionally, 49 per cent of Internet-delivered pay-TV subscribers have a TV antenna for watching over-the-air broadcast TV, and 35 per cent also have a pay-TV service from a traditional (cable, satellite, or Telco) provider.
These findings are based on an online survey of 6,947 households from throughout the United States and are part of a new LRG study, Internet-Delivered Pay-TV Services. This is LRG’s inagural study dedicated to this topic.
Other related findings include:
- 12 per cent of adults that moved in the past year have an Internet-delivered pay-TV service — compared to 6 per cent of non-movers
- Internet-delivered pay-TV subscribers watch these services at home 78 per cent of the time — compared to 80 per cent at home viewing of HBO NOW, and 88 per cent at home viewing of Netflix
- 69 per cent of current Internet-delivered pay-TV subscribers are very satisfied with their service — yet, 27 per cent are very likely to switch from an Internet-delivered pay-TV service in the next six months
- 24 per cent of those that do not currently have an Internet-delivered pay-TV service are very interested in getting one
- 76 per cent of all adults agree that there are specific networks or programming genres that are ‘must haves’ for a TV service in their household –- this includes 88 per cent of those very interested in getting an Internet-delivered pay-TV service
“There is clearly a growing niche market for lower-cost/lower-channel live streaming pay-TV services — particularly among younger, more mobile renters, and those living in households with more people,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “Currently, these Internet-delivered pay-TV services are augmenting other sources of video in home, and consumers are experimenting with the various streaming pay-TV services to discover what combinations of video offerings work best for their household.”