Research: 60% US homes sub to pay-TV and SVoD
November 9, 2020
Findings from Leichtman Research Group indicate that 60 per cent of US TV households have both a pay-TV service and at least one SVoD service. In addition, 20 per cent of TV households have an SVoD service but not pay-TV, 14 per cent only have a pay-TV service, and 6 per cent have neither pay-TV nor SVoD.
Among traditional (cable, satellite or telco) pay-TV subscribers, 79 per cent have an SVoD service, and 96 per cent of those getting live pay-TV from an Internet-delivered vMVPD also have an SVoD service. Comparatively, 76 per cent of pay-TV non-subscribers have an SVoD service.
These findings are based on a telephone survey of about 2,000 households from throughout the United States, and are part of a new LRG study, Pay-TV in the U.S. 2020. This is LRG’s eighteenth annual study on this topic. Other related findings include:
- 74 per cent of TV households in the US get a live pay-TV service (via a cable, DBS [DTH], telco, or Internet-delivered vMVPD) – compared to 85 per cent in 2015, 88 per cent in 2010, and 82 per cent in 2005
- 81 per cent of adults ages 55+ have a pay-TV service – compared to 76 per cent of ages 35-54, and 63 per cent of ages 18-34
- 27 per cent with both pay-TV and SVoD are ages 18-34 – compared to 46 per cent with SVoD-only
- 38 per cent of those that moved in the past year do not currently get a pay-TV service – a higher level than in any previous year
- 33 per cent of pay-TV non-subscribers last had a pay-TV service within the past three years, 34 per cent last subscribed >3 years ago, and 33 per cent never had a live pay-TV service
- 13 per cent of all TV households are pay-TV non-subscribers with a TV antenna
“Traditional pay-TV services from cable, satellite, and telco providers are now in less than two-thirds of US households, while an increasing number of households are opting to get live pay-TV from Internet-delivered vMVPD services,” notes Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “Consumers continue to choose the video services that best fit their households’ needs. For 60 per cent of households, this includes both pay-TV and SVoD services.”