September 30, 2015

Mobile Streaming Content Overtakes Live Programming, According to Deloitte

Streaming video services are heavily changing media consumption habits across generations, according to Deloitte’s latest "Digital Democracy Survey" of over 2000 consumers ages 14 and older.  The study reveals that streaming content has overtaken live programming as the viewing method-of-choice, with 56 percent of consumers now streaming movies and 53 percent streaming television on a monthly basis.

 

Millennials Watch More Shows on Mobile Devices than on TVs

 

Millennials, which the survey divides into Leading Millennials (age 26-31) and Trailing Millennials (age 14-25) for this study, are increasingly influencing product and service functionalities and are eager to adopt, even model, the next big thing.

The researchers noted that younger viewers have moved to watching TV shows on mobile devices rather than on television. Among millennials between the ages of 14 and 25, nearly 60 percent of time spent watching movies occurs on computers, tablets and smartphones, making movie viewing habits decidedly age-dependent.

Deloitte Deloitte

The report finds that the trend of binge-watching – viewing three or more program episodes at one sitting – is prevalent with 68 percent of consumers doing so today. In fact, 31 percent of Americans who binge-watch, do so at least once a week.

The growing ubiquity of digital devices and corresponding engagement activities among the American consumer is profound, with 90 percent of consumers now multitasking while watching TV. Among Millennials and Generation X (age 32-48), both engage in an average of three additional activities while watching television, including internet browsing, reading email and text messaging.

Also, with mobile device ownership continuing to grow, gamers are now spending one-third of their time playing games via mobile platforms:

  • Almost 40 percent of consumers and 54 percent of Trailing Millennials play at least some video games on a daily or weekly basis.
  • Of the time spent on playing games, 24 percent of consumers play on gaming consoles, 21 percent on a smartphone and 11 percent on tablet devices
  • Gaming consoles are no longer being used solely for gaming anymore, with 38 percent of consumers using them to stream movies and television online, and 29 percent using their consoles to view online content.

The survey reveals that 13 percent of Trailing Millennials who don’t already have smart watches intend to buy one in the next 12 months, and 12 percent of the same age group who don’t already own fitness bands intend to buy a fitness band within the same period. Among Leading Millennials, 17 percent intend to buy a smartwatch in the next 12 months, and 14 percent intend to buy a fitness band within the same time frame.

The value that Millennials place on devices and services was also examined, with home Internet overwhelmingly the most valued service among subscribers according to 93 percent of Millennials. Furthermore, more than half (58 percent) of Trailing Millennial subscribers still value Pay TV, with 22 percent of those consumers who don’t currently own a television planning to purchase a new television within the next 12 months. Among Leading Millennials, 75 percent of subscribers were shown to value Pay TV, with 25 percent of non-owners planning to purchase a new television in the next 12 months.

According to the survey, there was a decrease in the number of Pay TV subscribers that say they have no plans to change providers or cut the cord this year. A quarter of Trailing Millennials either cancelled their Pay TV subscriptions in the last 12 months or haven’t had Pay TV for more than a year. Among Leading Millennials, it was shown that 16 percent indicated they had either cancelled their Pay TV subscription in the last 12 months or haven’t had Pay TV for more than a year.

The trends documented in this report highlight the need for the media and entertainment industry to rapidly adapt to a much more dynamic end-point environment in which audiences that will have significant consequences on how content is delivered…and monetized.

 

Sources:

www.deloitte.com/us/tmttrends