The percentage of US households that have a subscription to one of the top 3 subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services is holding steady at 78%, the same as it was last year. In its latest annual survey on SVOD subscriptions, Leichtman Research Group (LRG) also found that nearly 6 in 10 of US households have more than one SVOD service.
Of the 2,000 households surveyed for the report, some 58% say they subscribe to more than one of the top 3 SVOD services Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. The percentage of households with more than one of these SVOD services continues to rise — increasing from 55% in 2020, 51% in 2019 and 28% in 2016.
A broader look, which includes 11 additional SVOD services, shows more than 8 in 10 (82% of) US households have at least one SVOD or DTC service. Additionally, more than half (53%) subscribe to three or more of these services. Indeed, the mean number of SVOD or DTC services is 3.1, up from 2.9 last year.
Daily Consumption Plateaus
About 4 in 10 (41% of) adults now stream an SVOD service on a daily basis. This is about on par with those who did so in 2020 (40%), but a good deal higher than those who streamed daily in 2019 (33%) and 2018 (30%).
Younger audiences continue to be the ones who are most likely to be streaming SVOD services on a daily basis. Adults ages 18-44 currently make up two-thirds (67%) of daily SVOD users, with 18-34-year-olds accounting for 41%. This suggests that a full quarter of those who watch daily are ages 35-44.
Non-TV Device Viewing Also Plateauing
Where US adults are watching video appears to have not changed much in the past year. More than half (54%) watch on non-TV devices (including mobile phones, home computers, tablets and e-readers) on a daily basis. That’s about the same as in 2020 (55%).
Again, younger adults are more likely to watch video on non-TV devices daily. Some 81% of adults ages 18-34 do so, compared to 59% of those 35-54 and one-quarter of adults ages 55+.
About the Data: “Emerging Video Services 2021 is based on a survey of 2,000 adults age 18+ from throughout the U.S. The survey, conducted in June-July 2021, included a sample of about 1,240 online and about 760 via telephone (including landline and cell phone calls). The overall sample has a statistical margin of error of +/- 2.2%.”
