Study Shows 50% of Households Subscribe to 4+ Streaming Services, Spend up 25% During COVID
It’s no secret that 2020 was a great year of streaming as the cable TV market purged millions more of subscribers. As streaming is now taking over as the preferred mode of watching TV, people are looking for specific content from specific services.
A new study by JD Power found that by December 2020, 50% of respondents said their households were now subscribed to four or more streaming services. That number was a major leap, considering the fact that it was at 39% in April. JD Power found that 13 of people said they use as many as seven or more services.
The study also found that as people are subscribing to more services, they’re also paying more. The average monthly expenditure of streaming services has increased from $38 in April to $47 in December 2020, JD Power reports.
Though Netflix continues to dominate the space, the streaming giant lost some ground in 2020 as some of its competitors gained share. Netflix’s market share came down to 81%, as Amazon Prime Video ranked second at 65% (down from 66% in April); followed by Hulu at 56% (up from 48%); Disney+ at 47% (up from 37%); YouTube TV at 20% (up from 17%); HBO/HBO Max at 22% (up from 13%); and Apple TV at 14% (up from 10%). Peacock, clocked out at 18%, though it’s worth noting it had no presence in April as yet.
A recent study conducted by Tubi found similar results to JD Power. Tubi’s study also found that on average, consumers subscribe to nearly four services per household. However, as the pandemic rages on, it looks like viewers’ desire to pay for content is slightly dwindling. Tubi found that one in five people (21%) between the ages of 18-34 cancelled their SVOD subscription because of COVID-19.
Tubi reported that the shift from cable to streaming has also continued and on average, the younger someone is, the less cable TV they watch per day. Tubi stated that 57% of 18 to 34 year olds don’t subscribe to cable, leaving the 55 and older demographic as the primary occupants of the space. Tubi says that their average user is 20 years younger than that of linear television.