Streaming online video is now the ¨new normal¨ for young adults, according to new market research about Millennial streaming TV habits from Horowitz. Aged 18-34, Millennials surveyed by Horowitz for its ¨State of Cable & Digital Media 2016¨ report said streaming accounts for more than half (54%) of the time they spend viewing TV content. Watching ¨live¨ TV programming accounted for 25% of Millennials’ TV viewing time.
The picture flips when all survey respondents surveyed are accounted for: viewing live TV accounted for 50% of viewing time while streaming accounted for 29%, Horowitz highlights in a press release. Horowitz includes TV contents saved on DVRs and video-on-demand, as well as live TV, in its definition of traditional TV viewing.
Millennial Streaming TV Habits
Streaming’s share of TV viewing time among Millennials has increased from 15% in 2012 to 54% this year. Traditional TV viewing for this group has dropped sharply, from 75% to 39% over the period.
Furthermore, Horowitz found that Millennials are more likely to turn to Netflix rather than TV network channels when they want to watch TV programming. Thirty-six percent said Netflix was their ¨go-to source¨ for TV content while 29% said it was live TV.
All this said, traditional TV viewing still has value, according to Horowitz. Three-quarters (76%) of 18-34 year-olds turn to both traditional TV and streaming services to watch TV programming. Just 13% rely exclusively on streaming.
“It’s an exciting time to be in the video industry. Established MVPDs like Comcast and new players like Layer3 alike are seeking to improve the value proposition of pay TV and reinvent the traditional TV experience with features like voice control, social media integration, and a more seamless cross-platform viewing experience,¨Horowitz’s director of marketing strategy Stephanie Wong elaborated. ¨Whether these features will be enough to keep Millennials with traditional distributors is the next big question.”
In recent, related market research, Adobe Primetime and TDG found that subscription, transactional or free streaming video services accounted for 42% of the time that adult video streamers spend in front of television screens at home.
¨Consumers’ video-streaming behavior has fundamentally changed the competitive landscape of the TV industry,¨ Adobe Primetime marketing director Campbell Foster commented. ¨Media companies now find themselves in a battle for attention, engagement, and audiences.¨
Image courtesy of flickr user Kirill Kniazev.
