Data: Thanksgiving brought VoD viewing boost in US
November 28, 2023

Video intelligence leader NPAW tapped into US customer data to determine the impact the Thanksgiving festivities had on streaming consumption. NPAW compared the streaming numbers for the holiday period (November 23rd-26th) against the seasonal average (November 1st-22nd).
The analysis revealed a drop in unique subscribers for VoD and Linear TV content (3 per cent and 2 per cent respectively). This trend held true across the four days (Thursday-Sunday), with Black Friday experiencing the most substantial decrease for both types of streaming content.
By themselves, these numbers would suggest a generalised decrease in streaming usage, as Americans travelled across the country to spend time with their loved ones, relegating screens to the background. However, a closer look at the Average Effective Playtime numbers — the minutes each user spends watching content, deducing ads, interruptions, etc. — reveals a significant increase in VoD consumption per user (+17 per cent).
In fact, the Average Effective Playtime for VoD exceeded the seasonal average on each day of the holiday period, with Thanksgiving and Black Friday registering the most substantial increases (21 per cent and 20 per cent respectively). Conversely, this metric decreased for Linear TV content across all days, particularly on Thanksgiving (-12 per cent)