Advanced Television

Study: Online viewing gaining on linear

September 26, 2018

Consumers worldwide are watching more online video than ever, increasing 58 per cent since 2016, to an average of six hours, 45 minutes each week, according to the new State of Online Video report from edge cloud services provider Limelight Networks.

However, the study finds consumers still spend more time watching traditional broadcast, averaging eight hours, two minutes each week. Performance issues with online video, such as live event delays and video rebuffering, continue to turn viewers off, pushing them to rely on traditional broadcast viewing.

In fact, 60 per cent of global consumers note they would be more likely to watch live sports online if they were guaranteed not to experience viewing delays. When it comes to online video frustrations, rebuffering is the primary area of contention for viewers, with two-thirds (66 per cent) reporting they will stop watching a video after two rebuffers.

Additional insights from the report include:

  • Cable subscribers pay for more streaming services than cord-cutters. More than half (59 per cent) of worldwide consumers subscribe to at least one VoD service. Cable subscribers are supplementing (not replacing) traditional TV with online video, paying for an average of 1.2 streaming services, while non-cable subscribers pay for 0.7 service.
  • Millennials lead the global shift to online video. Respondents age 18-35 currently watch more online video than broadcast. Young millennials (age 18-25) watch an average of nine hours,13 minutes of online video weekly compared to six hours, 11 minutes of traditional TV. 15 per cent of young millennials spend more than 20 hours a week watching online video.
  • Consumers will cancel their service due to price increases. More than half (55 per cent) of worldwide consumers say price increases would be the primary reason for cancelling an SVoD service. Nearly half (46 per cent) note the same for their cable subscription.
  • Online viewing ranges widely by country. Viewers in the Philippines watch the most online video at eight hours, 46 minutes each week, followed closely by India and the US at nearly eight and a half hours of viewing each week. Germany has the lowest online video viewership rate at five hours, two minutes.

“As consumer adoption of online video has increased, patience for video interruptions is at an all-time low,” said Michael Milligan, Senior Director at Limelight Networks. “Missed moments spoil live online viewing experiences, which means that providers must ensure low latency to lure viewers away from traditional TV. Limelight Realtime Streaming solves this problem by enabling organisations to stream live video in less than a second, providing online viewers with the same experience enjoyed by broadcast viewers.”

The State of Online Video report is based on responses from 5,000 consumers in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the UK, and the US age 18 and older who watch one hour or more of online video content each week.

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