Research from Parks Associates has found that the percentage of UK broadband households stating that they are likely to cancel their pay-TV service has increased from 12% in late 2015 to 24% in late 2018.
In its IoT in the UK – Entertainment Products and Services report, Parks noted that the number of over-the-top options available and adoption of OTT services in the UK today are similar to US figures in 2015. Overall, 24% of UK households subscribe to two or more services compared with 43% of US households in 2018.It added that if the UK OTT market follows a similar pattern as the US, the average number of per-household OTT subscriptions in the UK should increase steadily over the next few years.Freeview, online video, and premium pay-TV are the leading video sources for UK broadband households and the analyst found that the intent to cancel was higher among households that watch online video services.
“Subscription streaming services, also called OTT service subscriptions within the industry, have become incredibly popular in the UK over the past two years, with 52% of households subscribing to at least one,” remarked Brett Sappington, senior director, research, Parks Associates.
“Ofcom, the UK’s video regulator, announced in mid-2018 that OTT video service subscriptions have overtaken traditional pay-TV subscriptions, primarily due to the popularity of NOW TV TV, Netflix and Amazon. Comparatively low online video penetration presents opportunities for local and global service vendors to expand their presence in the UK market.”
