According to a new report by Comscore, the use of pure-play virtual MVPD services on OTT is increasing, but much more slowly than in the past. The report states that the average year-over-year growth in households between March - May 2018 was 48%, compared to the 21% year-over-year growth which occurred between December 2018 - February 2019.
The slower growth makes sense, as Live TV Streaming Services saw $5-10 price increases, as well as dramatic reductions in promotions — most specifically DIRECTV NOW. The streaming service saw a stunning 267,000 subscriber loss after removing device deals like a Free Apple TV 4K, their 3 month for $10 plan and discounts on the service for AT&T customers.
Comscore also found that nearly 80% of OTT streaming is with the “big four”—Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and YouTube. Over the past three years, Netflix has reached a 75% penetration of streaming households, which is the highest of any of the “big four.”
However, Hulu and Amazon have seen the biggest growth over that time. Since 2017, Hulu has seen their penetration increase from 22% to 32% of households, with most of that growth in the last year. Amazon Prime Video has seen similar rapid growth from 33% to 44% of households.
The majority of OTT viewing households still have a traditional TV subscription, with 65% of households being cable/satellite subscribers, 19% being cord cutters and 16% being cord-nevers. In addition, Comscore also found that cordcutters are significantly more engaged with OTT streaming than cord-nevers.