NEW YORK—A New Year resolution for many U.S. households is apparently to cut the cord for cable TV subscriptions. According to a new study by The Trade Desk, 27% of U.S. cable TV subscribers plan to end their subscriptions by the end of 2021, which is nearly double from the 15% that did so in 2020 and a big jump from the 3% annual decline that eMarketer reported prior to 2020.

Multiple factors that lead back to the COVID-19 pandemic are contributing to this rise in cord-cutting, per The Trade Desk. With more people working from home, budget pressure for many and broader availability of streaming services, streaming consumption now accounts for 68% of TV viewing versus 28% for traditional TV viewing.

What is widely seen as the biggest draw for traditional TV, live sports, is seeing its importance waning. The Trade Desk found that only 30% of U.S. consumers cite live sports as a reason to maintain their cable TV subscription; Trade Desk says nine months prior that number was at 60%. Since the pandemic, Trade Desk says that 39% of sports viewers are watching live sports either through Connected TVs or social media.

“COVID has accelerated cord-cutting trends that were already underway, to a point where less than 50% of U.S. households today have a cable subscription. It’s not because U.S. consumers have fallen out of love with TV, but that there are now more convenient ways of consuming it. That even applies to traditional cable mainstays, such as live sports,” said Tim Sims, chief revenue officer, The Trade Desk. “As more broadcasters launch and expand their streaming services, these gaps are only going to widen.” 

However, there is still a limit to what people are willing to spend on streaming services. Just above half of U.S. consumers (51%) say they would not spend more than $20 on streaming subscriptions. Also, consumers are more than five-times as likely to prefer free or low-cost streaming TV with ads over services with higher monthly subscription fees with no ads (72% vs. 14%), Trade Desk found.

The Trade Desk also surveyed advertisers to see how this transition from traditional linear TV is impacting their practices. Among those who are reevaluating their strategies, CTV is the primary option to reallocate campaign budgets to. CTV will represent 18% of their advertising spend moving forward, Trade Desk says.

This will likely mean shifts in buying strategies, including making fewer upfront commitments in 2021. Ad buyers are also expected to focus on CTV marketing skills, with 37% intending to hire new talent fluent in CTV. More than half (55%) intend to navigate both linear TV and CTV.

Moving forward, Trade Desk found that the top focus areas for CTV ad buyers will be the shift from a content-first to audience-first approach; a greater focus on integrated, cross-channel strategies; and more focus on non-traditional ad formats.

“The TV ad business is at a tipping point. Advertisers can reach more households via CTV than via traditional linear TV for the first time. That trend is not reversing,” said Sims. “Digitally savvy advertisers recognize the advantages of CTV advertising, including precision measurement, an audience versus content focus and the ability to apply data to all aspects of their TV campaigns. Many are embracing these opportunities, and that also means transforming some of the cultural norms of this industry, including how we think about skills development and ad-buying processes such as the upfronts.” 

BOSTON—Young consumers (aged 13-24) spend nearly as much time per week watching non-TV online video content as they do traditional TV programming, with the COVID-19 pandemic only increasing their online video consumption, according to a new report from Hub Entertainment Research.

According to Hub’s 2020 Video Redefined study, 13-24 year olds spend about 11.4 hours per week watching non-TV online video (i.e. YouTube, Twitch, TikTok) and 11.8 hours per week of traditional TV/streaming. No other age group is that close—25-34 year olds spend 17.9 hours per week watching traditional TV, compared to 10.3 hours for online video; 35 year olds and over watch more than three times worth of traditional TV (22.7 hours vs. 7.3 hours).

Unsurprisingly, the pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders have resulted in many 13-24 year olds increasing their online video consumption. Per Hub, two-thirds in this demographic say they are watching more online videos than prior to the pandemic. Older consumers have been less impacted, with only 29% saying they are watching more and 59% saying their habits haven’t changed.

Outside of YouTube, which is the top online video platform across all age groups, what sources age groups use to watch online videos strongly differ. Facebook is the only other source where more than 20% of those over 35 say they have watched an online video in the last seven days (44% say they have), however Facebook is actually tied for the second-least used service for those between 13-24. The young age group is more often watching content on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.

According to respondents, online videos serve a different purpose than traditional TV and major streaming services, Hub reports. People described traditional TV and a streamer like Netflix as a way to unwind or decompress, but YouTube, most notably YouTube Influencer videos, help consumers learn things, while TikTok is said to be a way to kill time.

“The rapid growth of platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, added to the continuing popularity of YouTube influencers, has made online video a leisure-time force to be reckoned with among 13-24 year olds,” said Peter Fondulas, principal at Hub and co-author of the study. “Of course, that popularity has major implications for marketers, especially considering that young consumers are more likely to trust product endorsements from their favorite online video personalities than traditional advertising.”

For more information, visit Hub’s website. 

NEW YORK—A majority of professional sports have been suspended or cancelled for more than a month because of the coronavirus pandemic, but that’s not lessening the amount of time that avid sports fans are spending consuming TV.

A new Nielsen report details just how the heavy sports viewer has adjusted his viewing habits in the absence of daily and weekly live sports, which has increased since people have been encouraged to stay home.

While the growth in daily consumption time for the heavy sports viewer is not as significant as the average adult in the U.S. (10% for the sports fan compared to 23% for other adults between March 8 and March 29), the sports viewer still leads the pack in time spent consuming traditional television. But use of connected TVs and other devices have also increased. For instance, internet-connected devices that can stream content to the TV saw a 20 minute increase in usage a day by the heavy sports viewer, a 50% increase from March 8.

While viewership numbers among heavy sports viewers and regular viewers alike have gone up for local news and SVOD programs because of the virus, sports content still holds a particular interest in certain markets even without live sports. Sports viewers spend 12% of their time watching sports-related content in Boston, 11% in Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh, and 10% in Detroit and New York City.

Meanwhile, some sports leagues have been able to increase interest in their content even during the pandemic. NASCAR created a virtual series of races with popular drivers, retired and current, that drew loyal and new fans—Nielsen reported that a virtual race on March 22 was the most watched linear esports broadcast in history.

The full Nielsen report is available on its website. 

BOSTON—There’s a lot of good content in what has been called the golden age of television, and viewers are discovering new and sometimes classic shows frequently. How they discover them has changed in recent years, however, as online sources are becoming the go-to place rather than through traditional pay-TV set-top box, according to Hub.

In its annual “Conquering Content” study, Hub has found that online resources have not only overtaken traditional TV options for finding and viewing new shows, but that it is nearly doubling as the place for viewers to discover their new favorite shows.

In 2015, when Hub asked viewers to reveal how they found a favorite show they’ve discovered in the last year, 57% said that they did so through a set-top box either with live TV, DVR or VoD; online came in at 43%. Since then, those numbers have been trending in opposite directors, and as of 2019 the margin is the largest its ever been, with online serving as the main source for 63% of viewers, while traditional TV options were the method for just 35%.

Netflix has separated itself as the top online choice. After overtaking traditional TV for the first time in 2018, the streamer has built upon its lead and was cited as the source of new favorite shows by 34% of respondents (up from 30% in 2018). Meanwhile, in comparison, traditional TV dropped a couple of points from 25% in 2018 to 23% in 2019.

“Even if traditional TV platforms still account for the bulk of all TV viewing, online sources are now the clear go-to for consumers’ favorite shows—the shows they’re most likely to talk about with others,” said Peter Fondulas, principal at Hub and co-author of the study. “Equally notable is that Netflix, by itself, is now a stronger source of favorite shows than all linear TV networks taken together.”

More information on the study can be found at www.hubresearchllc.com. 

SANFORD, Fla.—Today’s TV viewers don’t seem to mind being patient waiting for their favorite show to come back, but they may have issue waiting week to week for new episodes. This is one of the findings from a recent study by ItsWorthMore that looked at TV viewing habits in the streaming age.

According to a pool of more than 900 respondents, 53% said that they will wait to watch new seasons of shows until they are available on streaming platforms. Among the reasons given for this was that 67.4% wanted to be able to binge-watch the entire season, while another 67.4% said it was to avoid commercial breaks. Other factors included the ability to watch a show at any time, the ability to pause the show and the fact that it is often cheaper to stream. “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Walking Dead” were two examples of shows that fans will wait to come on streaming.

The study also found that among viewers who started to watch a show on TV, 42% switched to watching in on a streaming platform. Another 32% say they watch shows exclusively on streaming platforms, with those subscribing to Hulu being the most likely to do so.

ItsWorthMore also noted that the interest in streaming can be partially attributed to the improvement in phones, tablets and computers to present programs in high quality.

The move to streaming also could have an impact on the advertising industry. For some of the top shows on TV, which often demand the biggest advertising dollars, of the 65% of viewers who started watching on TV, 14% of them shifted to watching on streaming platforms. If the advertising rates were adjusted based on viewership, ItsWorthMore says that networks could lose more than $19 million per season in ad revenue.

Other findings from the study indicated how viewers perceive the production quality and diversity of offerings between traditional TV and streaming, and how they learn about new shows.

“Streaming affords more convenience and control, and many viewers are willing to wait to enjoy their favorite shows on digital platforms,” wrote ItsWorthMore.

“If network and cable channels aim to remain relevant, they must do more than move their content online. Indeed, they must create shows worthy of devoted audiences—and compelling enough to stand out in a saturated media environment.”

LOS GATOS, Calif.—Traditional TV viewing could take a backseat to streaming as soon as five years from now, according to a new report from Roku. In a 2019 cord cutting study released on Wednesday, projections estimate that 60 million TV households will access video on their TVs through streaming by 2024, eclipsing traditional pay-TV viewing for the first time.

Specific findings from this most recent study indicates, according to Roku, the emergence of a new generation of cord cutters. Overall U.S. market data has seen a reported two million Americans already cut the cord in 2019, following 3.5 million who did so in 2018. The number of total streamers don’t just include cord cutters or cord nevers—those who have never subscribed for pay-TV services—but also cord shavers, consumers who may still have traditional pay-TV services but have reduced their package over the last few years.

“Analysis indicates shifts in attitudes, behaviors and, most importantly, viewership among the new generation of cord cutters,” the Roku study reads. “Essentially, their viewing behavior more closely mirrors that of average mainstream TV viewers, but this new generation of cord cutters took the initiative to seek out better value and choice in how they consume TV.”

Roku noted five key factors that are driving people toward streaming and away from traditional pay-TV services. First, the option of vMVPDs allow consumers to access local channels and sports often at a reduced price of traditional TV. There’s also high-quality content available on streaming services; ad-supported video on-demand options, which was watched by 73% of the study’s respondents; ease of use, with 89% saying using a streaming device is easy and 74% calling it more convenient than pay-TV; and the claim that cable and satellite companies aren’t devoting the effort to retain low-margin video subscribers.

The report shares that respondents seem to be glad they switched to streaming, with 82% or cord cutters saying they are “extremely satisfied,” including 92% of Roku customers. In fact, the study found 98% of Roku cord cutters saying they will never go back to traditional TV, while 2/3 wish they had cut the cord sooner.

Find the full report here.

NEW YORK—As television viewing options have increased in recent years, viewers have expanded their sources of programming among live linear, subscription video on demand and virtual multichannel video program distributors like YouTube TV, Hulu or DirecTV Now, according to a new report from Hub Entertainment Research.

Viewers now average four different sources of programming, but with new providers like Apple TV+, Disney+ and AT&T’s HBO Max coming online, some viewers are complaining about “platform saturation” and will be reluctant to add any more services without cancelling an existing one, Hub said.

“We’ve seen in our other studies that many consumers won’t add a new service—like Disney+ or HBO Max—without cancelling an existing service,” Hub said. “The services they decide to hold onto are most likely to be the ones they consider their TV home base.”

The data, gleaned from Hub’s “Decoding the Default” survey, involved polling 1,678 viewers who subscribe to broadband and watch at least an hour of TV every week.

In its survey, Hub determined that for the majority of viewers, their first (or “default”) choice when they turn on the television is linear live programming on traditional pay-TV (34%), followed by Netflix at 21% and DVR content from MVPDs third at 11%.

The percentage of viewers defaulting to live linear MVPD is down 7% from 2018, according to Hub, which found that for the first time ever in 2019 the percentage of viewers defaulting to OTT (i.e. Netflix, Hulu, etc.) matches the percentage of viewers defaulting to live linear traditional TV at approximately 45% and 47% respectively.

Viewers’ rationale for picking their default choice are fairly obvious: For those who default to linear live TV, ease of use and familiarity are the top reasons while viewers who choose a service like Netflix or Amazon Prime are mainly attracted to the lack of commercials, the ability to binge watch and variety of program choices.

Regardless of their programming choices, Hub said that the vast majority of viewers still prefer viewing on a big screen.

NEW YORK—Recently released earnings reports from AT&T, Comcast, Charter Communications and Dish that show continued losses of subscribers to traditional TV services has led equity research company MoffettNathanson to predict that cord cutting numbers from the second quarter are projected to reach an all-time high of 5.5%.

Craig Moffett, MoffettNathanson's principal analyst, described the result from the second quarter earnings reports "freaking ugly."

However, the report was concluded before Dish officially released its earnings report, which showed a lost of its subscribers to only be 79,000 when initial estimates expected losses closer to 350,000.

Read the full story on TVT's sister publication Multichannel News. 

LONDON—Traditional TV is heading for uncharted territory according to PwC’s “Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2019-2023,” a forecast that would see a dip in TV’s compound annual growth rate for the first time.

Covering 14 industry segments in 53 territories, PwC’s “Outlook” projects that global spending on entertainment and media will increase at a CAGR of 4.3% by 2023, increasing the industry’s global revenue to $2.3 trillion. However, traditional TV is not expected to be one of the industry segments contributing to that growth.

Traditional TV, coupled with home video, has a negative growth expectation in the time frame covered in the PwC study. The rise of cord-cutting is a key factor in this, as OTT video is the projected to be the second largest contributor to the CAGR behind virtual reality, part of consumer’s desires to have personal, curated entertainment and media experiences.

“Advances in technology and service offerings are finally enabling people to move from passive to active consumption—not just individual pieces of media, but of media as a whole,” PwC writes. “One is the trend for consumers to reject the bundles of channels offered by cable or satellite providers, and instead construct their own ad hoc bundles made up of OTT services.”

Global OTT revenue is expected to double from what it was in 2018 ($38.2 billion) by 2023.

The emergence of 5G could also play a factor in the fight between traditional TV and OTT, as one of the key impacts of 5G will include the streaming of more high-quality video for live sports or other events.

Read the full PwC report here.

NEW YORK—Though “Cord Cutters” have been a popular group to follow as the traditional TV and streaming landscapes have evolved over the last few years, MRI-Simmons has revealed new research that shows there are a growing number of people who qualify as “Cord Nevers,” Americans that have never paid for a traditional TV connection.

New statistics show that about 31 million U.S. consumers, which represents about 12% of the adult population, fall into the Cord Never category. In 2017 that number was around 9%. Today, the median age for Cord Nevers is 33, while their average household income has increased from $41,500 in 2017 to $52,800 (a 27% increase).

Things may soon change for this group. MRI-Simmons reports that about 27% of Cord Nevers—around 8 million—plan to sign up for a pay-TV service in the next six months. Around 70% say they will subscribe to a traditional service (cable, fiber optic or satellite), while the remaining are looking at streaming TV packages, like Hulu with Live TV, DirecTV Now or Sling TV; among the 18-34 age range, 41% are looking at streaming options.

There are a variety of reasons Cord Nevers say they want to sign up for pay-TV services, with the ability to channel surf high among them, especially for those 35 and older. For those in the 18-34 age group, a good deal on a TV package and the easier ability to watch/find shows are key factors.

“Young people used to say that as soon as they got their first well-paying job, they would sign up for the full suite of traditional TV services,” said Karen Ramspacher, senior vice president innovations and insights at MRI-Simmons. “Today, there are many more options for connecting to TVideo content—so competition for these subscription dollars is fierce. As they grow in numbers and wealth, today’s Cord Nevers definitely represent an opportunity for content providers—but understanding the Nevers’ underlying motivations is essential to targeting them effectively.”

NEW YORK—Traditional TV watching continues to wane, especially among younger consumers, as more homes get connected devices and streaming services.

In its Total Audience Report for the third quarter of 2018, Nielsen says that overall media use is little changed from a year ago at 10 hours and 30 minutes per day. Total video consumption dropped a bit but the ways in which that video is being watched continues to shift, with young adults in the 18 to 34 year old age bracket watching more video on their smartphones than the shrinking amount of time they spend watching linear TV.

Internet-enabled TV connected devices can be found in 68 percent of U.S. households, up from 63 percent in the third quarter of 2017. Homes with smart TV as are up to 41 percent from 32 percent. And the share of homes with a streaming video subscription, be it Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and such, was up to 67 percent of homes, up from 61 percent.

While streaming grows, Nielsen said the total number of multichannel TV households in the U.S. dropped to 80.1 percent of U.S. homes from 82.1 percent a year ago. The gradually dropping number is important to programmers who receive subscriber fees to pay for the shows they produce.

The number of traditional cable home fell to 76.4 percent from 80.4 percent, but was supplemented by the growth of virtual MVPDs such as Sling TV and YouTubeTV. Homes with subscriptions to vMVPDs nearly doubled to 3.7 percent from 1.5 percent.

Over the air households continued to grow, reaching 12.9 percent of U.S. homes from 12.7 percent a year ago. And broadband only homes jumped to 7 percent from 5.2 percent.

Of the 10 hours and 30 minutes per day adults in the U.S. spend with media, the amount spent with live TV dropped to 3 hours and 44 minutes from 3 hours 54 minutes a year ago. Time shifted TV was down to 30 minutes per day from 31 minutes per days.

Usage of internet connected devices and smart TV showed their biggest ever jump, rising to 29 minutes per month from 21 minutes per month. Watching video via apps or the web on a smartphone increased to 2 hours 31 minutes from 2 hours 14 minutes.

The average time spent on video declined to 5 hours and 24 minutes from 5 hours and 27 minutes, but viewing was unchanged from the second quarter.

The average time spent per adult on live plus time shifted TV fell to 4 hours 13 minutes per day from 4 hours 25 minutes per day a year ago, while the amount of time spent with TV connected devices rose to 47 minutes per day from 40 minutes per day and the use of video-focused apps on a smartphone rose to 11 minutes from eight minutes.

Live plus time-shifted TV use was the highest among the adults 65-plus set at 6 six hours 51 minutes, down slightly from 6 hours 52 minutes. Among adults 50 to 64, viewing of live plus time shifted TV was down to 5 hours 29 minutes from 5 hours 37 minutes.

Viewers in the 18-34 demographic spent a greater share of their media time using a smartphone than a TV. Those young-adult consumer spent just 1 hour 51 minutes with live or time shifted TV, down from 2 hours 14 minutes, while viewing on the web or an app on a smartphone was up to 2 hours 50 minutes from 2 hours 27 minutes. Among 35 to 49 year olds, TV viewing was down to 3 hours 34 minutes from 3 hours 48 minutes, while phone use rose to 3 hours 1 minute from 2 hours 43 minutes.

“Overall total media use among U.S. adults remains unchanged year-over-year at 10-and-a-half hours per day," said Peter Katsingris, senior VP audience insights at Nielsen. "But there are shifts in were that time being spent is dedicated to, as we see increases in internet connected devices and app/web smartphone usage that are gradually replacing time spent on other sources. These shifts are not surprising, as nearly seven out of 10 homes now have a device capable of streaming content, and a similar amount have access to a streaming SVOD service.”

With the growth of streaming services and the rush of big media companies—Disney, Time Warner, Comcast—to get into the subscription business, Nielsen looked at consumer attitudes towards streaming.

Consumers said that what they were looking for in a streaming services was a variety of content (57 percent), easy to use technology (56 percent), access to movies (52 percent), accessibility/search of desired content (51 percent), access to local programming (43 percent), resolution options (40 percent), ability to record and control playback (39 percent), access to specific network programs (38 percent) and access to live sports (35 percent).

Streaming consumers said there were a number of things that influence which content they watch on streaming services. The top thing they watched were existing shows they used to watch on broadcast media, which was cited by 67 percent of those responding. Recommendations from family and friends was mentioned by 66 percent; browsing streaming service websites 59 percent; new shows I learned about on broadcast media/channel websites 54 percent; reviews 52 percent; recommendations provided from streaming service websites was 48 percent; and promotion and introductions on social media was 42%.

Only 34 percent of viewers credited advertisements on billboards and magazines as influencing what they watched.