Close to 8 in 10 households in the US subscribe to subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services. And, according to data from Ampere Analysis, SVOD services are the main way 57% of US internet users watch TV and films.
Figures based on Ampere Markets-Operators data, which compares the number of subscription OTT contracts in the US with the US population, finds that there are about 340 million subscription OTT contracts in the US, which is about 10 million more contracts than the total population (330 million). Per Ampere’s estimates, in Q1 2021 there were 1.03 OTT subscriptions per person in the US, an almost-50% increase over the 0.7 subscriptions per person during the year-earlier period.
Although end-of-year data for 2020 from Kantar shows considerably fewer video streaming subscriptions, it does back up the rise in SVOD subscriptions over the past year. This same research shows that newer services such as Disney+ and HBO Max helped lift the number of subscriptions, with these services accounting for 18.3% and 12%, respectively, of all new US SVOD subscriptions last year.
At the same time as OTT subscriptions have increased, so has cord-cutting. Pew Research Center found that only 56% of US adults currently receive TV via pay-TV at home, down from 76% in 2015. That said, there has also been a rise in the share of US households that subscribe to both pay-TV and SVOD, showing that while not everyone is ready to cut the cord, they still want to enjoy the benefits of SVODs.
Furthermore, while one such benefit of SVODs for US adults is the lack of advertisements, there has also been impressive growth in the past year in the number of adults who view ad-supported streaming video services.
About the Data: Findings are based on Ampere Markets-Operators data comparing the number of subscription OTT contracts in the US with the US population.
