PLANO, TEXAS—Early word on virtual pay-TV services is overwhelmingly positive, according to a new report from The Diffusion Group. TDG’s “Benchmarking the Connected Customer” project from Q2 2017 found that 86 percent of users find vMVPD services in a positive light.

The survey findings come from 2,000 adult broadband users. From that sampling, less than 5 percent said they were using a live streaming pay-TV service. However, among the users, 49 percent ranked service value as “very good” and 37 percent ranked it as “good.” There was 11 percent who were neutral on the service and 3 percent ranked the service as poor (1 percent “poor,” 2 percent “very poor”).

“Users seem okay without the ‘full Monty’ of legacy pay-TV channels, and to be fairly tolerant of the shortcomings that haunt live streaming video, such as buffering, pixilation and screen freezing,” said Michael Greeson, president and principal analyst at TDG.

TDG expects to launch additional research on vMVPD users, looking to assess who they are, their decisions and preferences and their potential impact on the future of TV.

To access the full “Benchmarking the Connected Customer” report, visit TDG’s website.