Half of OTT Video Streamers Account for 90% of Viewing Time

May 18, 2018

Close to two-thirds (63%) of US households with Wi-Fi streamed video content on OTT devices in February 2018, reports comScore, a figure that aligns with Nielsen data showing that 59% of all US homes had an internet-enabled device capable of streaming content to the TV in November 2017. The analysis from comScore indicates that there’s a substantial difference in viewing behavior between heavy and light OTT streamers.

[In this case, video streamed to OTT devices uses the IAB definition of “a device that can connect to a TV (or functionality within the TV itself) to facilitate the delivery of Internet based video content (Roku, Apple TV, Smart TV’s, game consoles, etc.).”]

Dividing the streaming population up into light (50%) and heavy (50%) streamers, comScore demonstrates that:

  • Heavy OTT streamers accounted for 90% of all streaming time in February, at an average of 90 hours for the month; while
  • Light OTT streamers comprised just 10% of the streaming time, averaging just 9.5 hours for the month.

In other words, heavy streamers spent about 10 times longer per day (more than 3 hours) watching OTT content than light streamers (20 minutes per day).

Pay-TV Status May Explain Viewing Differences

Two-thirds of OTT streamers had a pay-TV service as of February, while 18% were cord-cutters and 14% counted as cord-nevers.

Light OTT streamers were considerably more likely than heavy OTT streamers to have a pay-TV service (76% and 59%, respectively), while being about half as likely to be cord-cutters (12% and 23%, respectively).

As such, it’s likely that light OTT streamers are spending less time with OTT as they split their time with traditional TV. Cord-stacking (having both a pay-TV service and a streaming service) is an increasingly popular option, and it’s worth noting that people with both services are heavier video content viewers overall than cord-cutters.

3 in 4 Young Households Stream Video

Not too surprisingly, there’s a strong age-related component to OTT streaming activity. Fully 77% of households headed by someone in the 18-34 age bracket stream OTT content, a figure that falls to just 43% of households headed by someone aged 65 or older.

The distribution of streaming behavior also differs by householder age. Among streaming households headed by an 18-34-year-old, 60% are heavy streamers. By contrast, only a minority of streaming households headed by someone aged 45 or older are heavy streamers.

While comScore notes that demographic segmentation can help in targeting hard-to-reach OTT audiences, “not every millennial is an OTT streamer and not every OTT streamer is a millennial.”

For more information on the demographic breakdown of TV and online TV program viewers, see MarketingCharts’ “US Media Audience Demographics” report. A separate study, “The State of Traditional TV Viewing,” examines TV viewing trends across age and other demographic groups.

Chart-Library-Ad-1

Explore More Articles.

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

Which Skills Are Important in RevOps?

9 in 10 RevOps professionals view data analysis skills as being important, a high percentage also don’t believe they need this skill for their job.

Marketing Charts Logo

Stay on the cutting edge of marketing.

Sign up for our free newsletter.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This