Households that previously subscribed to pay-TV but no longer do so (cord-cutters) spend 2.5 hours per day watching over-the-top (OTT) content such as Netflix and Hulu, reports comScore after analyzing the behaviors of such homes during the month of March. The firm notes that the 79-hour monthly average is well above that of the average OTT viewing home (49 hours per month), but is just a fraction of the 225 hours of linear TV watched by the average home.
That brings to mind other data from comScore in which it revealed that dual-service households (pay-TV and OTT) spend far more time with live TV than with OTT content.
The findings suggest that cord-cutters watch more OTT than the typical OTT viewing home (including those with OTT and a pay-TV subscription), this group has a smaller overall “appetite” for TV content, which could be a reason for cutting the cord in the first place. (Although it’s likely that it’s a value proposition that takes into account cost.)
The results are supported by separate research from Ericsson in which survey respondents who paid for managed TV self-reported spending more time each week watching video than those who had cut the cord or had never subscribed.
Cord-Cutters More Likely to be Lower-Income
Research has shown time and time again that price is the main reason for cutting the cord. So perhaps it makes sense that cord-cutting homes are more likely to be in lower- to middle-income households, where price might conceivably (though not definitely) be a larger concern.
Specifically:
- Homes with less than $40k in annual income are 20% more likely to be cord-cutters than the average OTT viewing Wi-Fi enabled home;
- Those with $40-60k in income are 14% more likely to be cord-cutters; and
- Those with $60-75k in income are 8% more likely to be cord-cutters.
About the Data: comScore notes that its data was “based on measuring March 2017 behavioral OTT viewing data for the approximately 870 cord-cutting homes in our 12,500+ household panel. This data was then weighted and projected to represent the proportion of Wi-Fi homes in the U.S. who have cut the cord. We also analyzed data from more than 4,700 homes who watch OTT content and also subscribe to pay-TV.”
