Research: 27% DTC SVoDs shared
April 6, 2021
Findings from Leichtman Research Group indicate that 82 per cent of US households have at least one streaming video service from eleven top direct-to-consumer (DTC) and subscription video on-Demand (SVoD) services; 51 per cent of all households have three or more of these services.
However, not all of these services are being paid for directly by those who use them. The study, Internet-Delivered Pay-TV Services 2021, found that:
- 69 per cent of all DTC services are fully paid for and are not shared with others outside the household
- 27 per cent of all DTC services are used in more than one household:
- 13 per cent of services are used and paid for by those that also share them with someone outside the household
- 12 per cent of services are used in one household but are borrowed from another household that is paying for the service
- 2 per cent of services are used by multiple households that share costs
- 4 per cent of all DTC services are not paid for because they come with another service
Other related findings include:
- 16 per cent of all households have at least one DTC service that is fully paid for by someone else
- 26 per cent of adults ages 18-34 have at least one DTC service that is fully paid for by someone else – compared to 12 per cent of ages 35+
- Adults ages 18-44 account for 63 per cent of all with a vMVPD pay-TV service
- 77 per cent of vMVPD subscribers are very satisfied with their service – compared to 69 per cent in 2018
- 13 per cent are very likely to switch from a vMVPD service in the next six months – compared to 27 per cent in 2018
- 20 per cent of all vMVPD services are shared by multiple households, including 6 per cent of all vMVPD services that are fully paid for by someone outside the household
“Password sharing is prevalent throughout the streaming video industry. Over a quarter of DTC streaming video services are shared with others outside the household, including 12 per cent of all services that are ‘borrowed’ from someone else’s subscription,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group. “Yet, sharing of streaming services should not solely be viewed as lost revenue, as the ability to share with others is also part of the retention strategy for the services.”