Survey: Comic Con attendees flock to SVoD
May 30, 2019
By Nik Roseveare
A survey conducted by Experience12 reveals the continued decline of live broadcast TV among Comic Con attendees, with just 7 per cent picking it as their preferred way to view content and almost two thirds (62 per cent) saying SVoD platforms are their favourite way to watch. When it comes to specific services, Netflix came out on top with 83 per cent of the vote well ahead of Amazon Prime and Now TV.
Pop Culture Marketing agency Experience12 polled 1,167 fans on the ground at the MCM London Comic Con convention at the ExCeL from May 24th – 26th, exploring consumer habits when it comes to content consumption, gaming and which new releases they are most looking forward to.
The battle for dominance between film and TV rages on, with film coming out on top thanks to some 63 per cent of attendees saying it’s their preferred format, perhaps as a result of the success of Avengers: Endgame. The record-breaking blockbuster has impacted perceptions of the fantasy worlds too, with 83 per cent preferring Marvel over DC.
Instagram is the social media of choice for Comic Con attendees, with some 43 per cent saying they’d pick the photo sharing platform over any other. This is a marked growth since the last poll at MCM London Comic Con in October 2018, where just 28 per cent picked Instagram as their favoured social media. Facebook (33 per cent), Twitter (16 per cent) and Snapchat (4 per cent) have all rapidly slid down the rankings.
Other key findings include:
- TV still top overall – it’s nearly half (47 per cent) of people’s favourite device to view content on
- Mobile’s not all that – only 19 per cent of people prefer to watch content on their mobile device
- Stranger Things is the most anticipated TV programme with 31 per cent of the vote
- 38 per cent of people say Spider-Man: Far From Home is the most anticipated film
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the most anticipated game on the horizon, cited by 38 per cent
- PlayStation comes out on top in the battle of the gaming platforms, picked by 41 per cent of attendees
Chris Whittle, Founder and Managing Director at Experience12, said: “Fans who attend Comic Con are by and large early adopters when it comes their content consumption habits, which is why speaking with them on the ground at the show is always a really interesting litmus test for upcoming trends. These findings demonstrate the ongoing decline of traditional live broadcast TV, but also threw a slight curveball in the form of a spike in film popularity in the Film vs. TV debate, where film has been on a downward trajectory for several years. This suggests that quality is more important to fans than format and brands should take note of this.”