Research from Parks Associates has found that 43% of US internet households have livestreamed online content in the past three months, with sporting events beating news as the most popular type of content.
Indeed, the Quantified Consumer: Livestreaming: The Next Hot Video Market study revealed that as many as 61% of livestreaming users have recently watched a live sporting event online, while newscasts, the second most popular type of content, captured only 36%.
Drilling deeper, consumers who subscribed to online sports services or those who subscribed to a premium pay-TV sports package were found to be more likely to livestream. Noted said Paul Erickson, director of research, Parks Associates: “Right now, sports content is key to drawing and keeping an engaged livestream viewer base. Even with content that benefits from live consumption – such as news and concerts – significantly fewer consumers are livestreaming this content compared to sports. The sports audience is significantly more engaged in livestreaming as a whole.”
The Quantified Consumer: Livestreaming: The Next Hot Video Market report also found that 78% of those who subscribe to an OTT sports service have livestreamed, as opposed to just a quarter of those who do not subscribe to an OTT sports service. Consumers who regularly livestream content were engaged users. For many, livestreamed content was their primary content consumption. Consumers who livestream estimated that live online content comprised close to half of their total online video consumption. Among heavy livestream viewers, on-demand content comprises just over a quarter of their online video consumption.
“Offering livestreaming content is an opportunity for services to draw both the highly engaged heavy livestreaming audience and livestream-centric older audiences,” Erickson added. “Consumers in the higher age brackets can be difficult to target, but livestreaming is one option that appeals to them, provided the provider delivers the right content.”
Drilling deeper, consumers who subscribed to online sports services or those who subscribed to a premium pay-TV sports package were found to be more likely to livestream. Noted said Paul Erickson, director of research, Parks Associates: “Right now, sports content is key to drawing and keeping an engaged livestream viewer base. Even with content that benefits from live consumption – such as news and concerts – significantly fewer consumers are livestreaming this content compared to sports. The sports audience is significantly more engaged in livestreaming as a whole.”
The Quantified Consumer: Livestreaming: The Next Hot Video Market report also found that 78% of those who subscribe to an OTT sports service have livestreamed, as opposed to just a quarter of those who do not subscribe to an OTT sports service. Consumers who regularly livestream content were engaged users. For many, livestreamed content was their primary content consumption. Consumers who livestream estimated that live online content comprised close to half of their total online video consumption. Among heavy livestream viewers, on-demand content comprises just over a quarter of their online video consumption.
“Offering livestreaming content is an opportunity for services to draw both the highly engaged heavy livestreaming audience and livestream-centric older audiences,” Erickson added. “Consumers in the higher age brackets can be difficult to target, but livestreaming is one option that appeals to them, provided the provider delivers the right content.”
