Study Finds That 90 Percent of Households With Children Subscribe to at Least One OTT Service
Though the common perception is that young people are the driving demographics in the cord-cutting industry, a new study by Park Associates revealed there’s also another large group at play. In their “Households With Children: Dominant Tech Purchasers” study, the research firm found that “households with children, particularly those ages 6 to 11, are the leading demographic groups for technology product and entertainment service purchasing.”
The firm found that 90 percent of households with children at home subscribe to at least one OTT service and that about 80 percent of respondents with children said they use some digital technology apps to support communication, educate as well as entertain their children.
“New content offerings for OTT services that highlight children’s content or educational content will help keep this group engaged, especially as we continue to see some states encouraging or mandating consumers to stay at home,” said Jennifer Kent, senior director, Parks Associates.
In June, Parks Associates also reported that viewers have been weighing all streaming options as they have had to stay at home due to the COVID-19 outbreaks. The research firm found that the amount of customers who have canceled their subscriptions to streaming services during the first quarter of 2020 was 41 percent, a spike from 35 percent in the same period of 2019.
With Disney+, Apple TV+, and HBO Max launching within the last six months, customers have had more than enough content to choose from. According to the study, 49 percent of new subscribers subscribed to Disney+, while 27 percent subscribed to Apple TV+.
“The industry is working on new hybrid content strategies as a result of production halts,” said Steve Nason, research director at Parks Associates. “Free trials will bring in new subscribers at the launch, and roughly seven in 10 have subscribed to at least one OTT service they have trialed. OTT services need to be creative in building an engaging service, but during this time of heavy video consumption, OTT services have the opportunity like never before to win over new video consumers and retain them as long-term subscribers.”