Revealing what it says is a telling trend in how much time Americans spend watching TV and film content and how they’re watching it, research from the NPD Group has shown how viewing is shifting from live TV to subscription services.The key driver is that as the number of subscribers to Netflix, Hulu and other subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services continues to increase, so too does the amount of time viewers watch television and movies on their TVs, personal computers and mobile devices. The Entertainment Trends in America survey showed that consumers viewed one more hour per week of television and movie content in August of 2017, than they did the previous year.
NPD noted an 8 percentage point year-over-year rise in subscription video streaming during the 12 months ending August 2017 and a 2 percentage point increase in electronic sell-through (EST), where consumers pay a one-time fee to download and keep a media file. The share of US consumers using only SVOD services to watch content was found to have increased from 11% in August 2016 to 15% a year later.
“Digital content continues to reshape the video landscape,” said Graham Gee, president of video entertainment, The NPD Group. “SVOD had the highest year-over-year increase, with almost half the population streaming video, but purchasing downloadable content is also gaining traction.”
In a caveat, NPD said that it was important to note that a third of the US population still buys and rents video content, in addition to using streaming services. “When it comes to entertainment, few consumers limit themselves to one single option,” Gee added. “Going out to the movies, watching cable TV, and viewing DVDs at home are still very popular activities, even as subscriptions to streaming services rise.”
NPD noted an 8 percentage point year-over-year rise in subscription video streaming during the 12 months ending August 2017 and a 2 percentage point increase in electronic sell-through (EST), where consumers pay a one-time fee to download and keep a media file. The share of US consumers using only SVOD services to watch content was found to have increased from 11% in August 2016 to 15% a year later.
“Digital content continues to reshape the video landscape,” said Graham Gee, president of video entertainment, The NPD Group. “SVOD had the highest year-over-year increase, with almost half the population streaming video, but purchasing downloadable content is also gaining traction.”
In a caveat, NPD said that it was important to note that a third of the US population still buys and rents video content, in addition to using streaming services. “When it comes to entertainment, few consumers limit themselves to one single option,” Gee added. “Going out to the movies, watching cable TV, and viewing DVDs at home are still very popular activities, even as subscriptions to streaming services rise.”
