Research: Smart TVs now default streaming platform
January 19, 2022
Parks Associates consumer research featured in its OTT Video Market Tracker reveals that in Q3 2021, 27 per cent of US broadband subscribers reported the Samsung Tizen Smart TV is their primary device for consuming video content. The firm’s most recent update recaps top industry and consumer trends of Q4 2021 and highlights anticipated market shifts in 2022.
“More changes are coming for the video entertainment market in 2022,” said Eric Sorensen, Senior Contributing Analyst, Parks Associates. “The smart TV will cement its status as the default streaming platform in the households. We will see many more content partnerships and service acquisitions among providers and manufacturers. Content creators will leverage their ability to reach audiences directly, while service and content providers will adapt their business models to anticipate higher levels of churn than in previous years.”
Acquisitions and consolidations are becoming key options for streaming firms to compete in the face of limited material and the constant demand for more new content. The OTT Video Tracker also notes that the average churn rate for SVoDs increased to 45 per cent in 2021, a 5.5 per cent jump from 2020. Consumers hold on to the services they use the most and jump among the others, paying for a programme or season and then cancelling when they are finished. The number of subscriptions may rise and fall over time, indicating that churn rates will continue to be elevated.
Parks Associates also notes that streaming media providers will face increasing competition from digital and social content producers in 2022. Popular online content creators are circumventing established distribution models and building their streaming applications from the ground up. For instance, KevOnStage Studios, created by comedian and multi-viral content producer Kevin Fredericks, whose stage name is KevOnStage, is very successful with his YouTube channel.
“Streaming apps provide new revenue opportunities, especially with the chance to retain content ownership rights,” Sorensen said. “Digital content creators can monetise content and build audiences collected from social networking and video sharing platforms to their streaming applications and websites.”
The OTT Video Market Tracker, an annual service from Parks Associates, features monthly updates on trends and market activities in the OTT video space, including comprehensive tracking of existing and emerging players and quarterly subscriber estimates. The firm recently released its annual Top 10 US Subscription OTT Video Services, with Disney+ replacing Hulu in the top three:
- Netflix
- Prime Video
- Disney+
- Hulu
- HBO Max
- ESPN+
- Paramount+
- Apple TV+
- Starz
- Showtime