LOS ANGELES—Fewer consumers feel the need to have both a virtual MVPD service and a traditional pay-TV subscription than they did just a couple of years ago, as a new report from TDG, a division of Screen Engine/ASI, shows that 23% of households subscribe to both types of services.

2018 was the peak of dual-service use, as TDG says that 37% of vMVPD subscribers also subscribed to a traditional cable, satellite or telco pay-TV service. This was because vMVPD platforms, like Sling TV, did not carry live programming from the major national broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC). As a result, consumers felt that the two services were necessary to satisfy household needs.

Today, services like Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV, both of which include the major four networks, have become market leaders. This has led to a decreased need for two separate services.

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However, of the 23% of vMVPD subscribers who do have a legacy pay-TV subscription as well, they say that the programming requirements of their home require it, and that they often use the second service when they are away from home. Also, 71% of dual-subscribers see their legacy service as their primary service.

In 2018, TDG predicted that the 37% of dual-subscribers would decline to 10% by 2022, and believe that the latest data still supports that trajectory.

“Most OTT pay-TV services now provide a full complement of both broadcast and cable channels, meaning they are more capable of competing head-to-head with ‘fat’ legacy offerings,” said Michael Greeson, co-founder and president of TDG.

Greeson also makes the case that simply combining the data for traditional pay-TV and vMVPD subscribers for a cumulative pay-TV subscription tally is invalid and that the overlap should be recognized.

TDG will discuss the data from this report and other insights during its “Stream TV’s Summer Research Summit” on June 29.

For more information, visit www.tdgresearch.com.  

LOS ANGELES—A new, major player is expected to join the ranks of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime when Disney launches its own direct-to-consumer subscription service, Disney+. According to a recent survey by The Diffusion Group, there is a solid level of interest in this new service.

The new Disney+ service is expected to offer Disney movie library titles—including classic Disney films, as well as Pixar, National Geographic, Marvel and “Star Wars” movies—Disney’s children’s TV shows and original shows and movies created for the service.

“This is a major studio pooling what is arguably the largest library of high-value content on the planet to populate a single branded subscription service,” said Michael Greeson, TDG president.

TDG surveyed adult broadband users on the likelihood they would sign up for “a Netflix-like service from Disney,” randomly assigning the respondents price points of either $5.99, $7.99 or $9.99 a month. The results found that about 43 percent of adults are various degrees of likely to sign up for the service, compared to just below 40 percent who say they in various degrees are unlikely to sign up.

“Based on our research, Disney+ will enjoy strong early demand,” Greeson concluded. “The amount of high-quality content being packed into the offering will make it not only appealing, but very sticky.”

However, the interest does seem to depend on certain scenarios. For instance, legacy pay-TV subscribers are more strongly interested in Disney+ than cord-cutters or cord-nevers; Hulu subscribers are more likely to sign for up the service than those with Netflix or Amazon Prime; age also plays a factor, as those younger than 35, or those with children under 18 and living at home, are more inclined to sign up.

TDG also views the launch of Disney+ as a testing ground for the DTC model. The service is expected to pull select content from third-party SVODs like Netflix to run exclusively on its own platform. The success or failure of this will serve as a model for if this kind of “tribalism,” as TDG puts it, can be sustained.

Disney+ is reportedly eyeing a fall 2019 launch.

PLANO, TEXAS—Seeing select premium networks alongside a few other channels going direct-to-consumer (DTC) with streaming services is more than a passing fad.

Citing the ongoing unbundling of cable TV packages in the coming years, The Diffusion Group predicts that all “major” TV networks will introduce OTT-powered, direct-to-consumer services by 2022.

That, of course, would build on several of the services that have already been launched, such as HBO Now, Starz, Showtime, CBS All Access, as well as those that are in the plans from The Walt Disney Co., including ESPN Plus, among others.

Mike Berkley, TDG’s senior advisor and author of the report—"The Future of Direct-to-Consumer Video Services - Analysis & Forecasts, 2018-2028"—said those mark the “early signs of an emerging media tribalism.”

[The Future of OTT Streaming]

TDG predicts that the move by major networks to go OTT and reserve their best content for direct-to-consumer offerings will help drive total DTC subscriptions close to 50 million by 2022.

"Big media companies are reacting more boldly to changes in TV viewing behavior," Berkley added. "Consolidating, bulking up on originals, and marketing directly to consumers are driving their strategic direction."

He also stressed that DTC strategies by networks are also risky and could damage their relationships with traditional distributors.

“If networks extract too much high-value content too quickly, channel conflicts are inevitable,” he said.

This story first appeared on TVT's sister publication Multichannel News.

PLANO, TEXAS—The pool of streamers of TV content continues to grow in relevance in the industry, but according to a new study from TDG Research indicates that within that pool there are four distinct sub-segments that provide key information into who is streaming and how.

According to TDG, each sub-segment of TV Subscription Streamers (TSSs) offers a distinct demographic, techno-graphic and psychographic profile. The four groups are as follows:

Pay-TV Supplementers – Defined by their affinity toward traditional pay-TV services, Supplementers use SVOD to complement their TV viewing. Live broadcast remains their first choice for TV viewing and they spend most their time watching TV programming.

Pay-TV Substituters – Substituters are distinguished by their aversion toward traditional pay-TV services and their affinity toward SVOD as their primary video source, accounting for two-thirds of their total video time. They watch SVOD services on their PCs and smartphones, but most time is spent watching on TV.

Quantum Viewers - This category is characterized by its tendency to watch SVOD on all devices, not just TVs. They are more likely to use all types of consumer electronic and computing devices, but are no more likely to be “anti-pay-TV.” This group is also the youngest on average of the four.

Video Luddites – This group spends the least amount of time watching all types of videos on all types of devices. Luddites still consider online video services as their key source of entertainment though.

Additional findings in the TDG study include that two-thirds of U.S. adult broadband users (ABUs) view online SVOD services on a home television. TSSs, however, tend to be younger than ABUs, with 44 percent of TSSs under the age of 34. One-fourth of TSSs turn to SVOD services first and spend an average of 41 percent of their weekly TV time watching streaming video. TVs remain the most popular viewing source for TSSs, 79 percent use their PCs, 46 percent use tablets and 59 percent use smartphones.

To see the full report, click here.