It really shouldn’t be shocking news, but I’m a “numbers guy” and I like to look at hard data that supports assumptions like these.
A new national survey from E-Poll Market Research (a full-service consumer research company that provides quantitative and qualitative research to media, entertainment and Fortune 1,000 companies), finds that among those who have had any exposure to streaming programming, Netflix is the most frequent choice for all demographic groups surveyed when they want to watch a TV show. On average, among all those surveyed, Netflix is twice as popular as the next choice: Watching “live” TV.
Question – Where do you go most frequently when you want to watch a TV show?
|
VIEWING SOURCE |
Total |
Teens 13-17 |
Young Millennials 18- 24 |
Older Millennials 25- 34 |
Gen X 35- 54 |
Baby Boomers 50- 54 |
|
Netflix streaming subscription |
33% |
39% |
51% |
34% |
25% |
24% |
|
A TV channel during its original air time |
16% |
11% |
7% |
13% |
22% |
21% |
|
DVR or TiVo Service |
15% |
6% |
6% |
15% |
20% |
21% |
|
Hulu (paid) subscription |
7% |
5% |
7% |
9% |
7% |
6% |
|
YouTube |
7% |
17% |
10% |
6% |
4% |
4% |
|
Online, on a free site |
4% |
9% |
5% |
3% |
3% |
3% |
|
Amazon Prime subscription |
3% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
4% |
4% |
|
VOD (Video on Demand) |
2% |
1% |
1% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
|
All other sources (14 choices) |
13% |
12% |
11% |
16% |
13% |
15% |
E-Poll’s “Streaming Media Landscape” is a tracking study exploring the shifting attitudes and behavior of US media consumers ages 13 – 54 towards television viewing. This edition shows the increasing strength of the Netflix brand as well as streaming in general, and marks a significant change from prior year tracking, when Boomers chose “Live” TV as their preferred viewing source.
The results also show that the popularity of streaming is due in large part to viewers’ interest in time shifting, binge watching and avoiding commercials.
Q – Select all of the reasons that impacted your decision to subscribe:
|
REASONS FOR SUBSCRIBING |
Netflix |
Amazon Prime |
Hulu (Paid) |
|
To get free shipping |
n/a |
72% |
n/a |
|
There are NO commercials/ There are limited commercials (Hulu only) |
69% |
37% |
23% |
|
The ability to watch at a time that is convenient for me |
66% |
34% |
54% |
|
The price I pay for total access is a reasonable value |
58% |
30% |
45% |
|
The ability to binge watch multiple episodes in a row |
51% |
22% |
39% |
No surprise, binge-watching (a word I believe only entered popular lingo in the last decade or so) is becoming the new norm, with nearly half of Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers and the majority of Millenials reporting that they binge-watch TV programming weekly.
E-Poll’s “Streaming Media Landscape” survey was conducted among 1,488 persons aged 13-54, with general representation across income, age, education and geographic demographics to represent a cross-section of the U.S. population. All respondents had viewed a full-length streamed program within the previous 6 months.
This is the 2nd installment of the tracking study with the 3rd releasing in September 2016. Started in Winter of 2014, this study allows for continuous tracking of content consumption and consumer behavior across various digital distribution platforms, as well as perceptions of specific TV programs originating on Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, YouTube and other SVOD services.
