Young people living at home with their parents are, once they move out on their own, more likely to subscribe to an online pay-TV service such as Netflix or Hulu Plus than a legacy pay-TV service such as cable or satellite.
This data is drawn from The Diffusion Group (TDG)’s latest multi-client primary research project, Late Millennials: A Study in Media Behavior.
“Much has been said about younger adults and the choices they may make about their home TV services once they leave their parents’ home,” notes Michael Greeson, president and principal analyst for TDG. “Yet little research has been offered up to support the various hypotheses.”
TDG’s new research, says Greeson, makes it clear that tomorrow’s head-of-household is less favorably disposed than their predecessors toward legacy services and more favorably disposed toward OTT TV services.
Greeson admits these dispositions could change over time if OTT TV services are unable to acquire the content these consumers will want as they marry, have children, and move up the career ladder. “In the end, it will still be less about the conduit and more about the content and value the service provides.”
TDG surveyed a random sample of more than 2,000 Late Millennials (in this case, adult broadband users between the ages of 18 and 24), half of which were living at home with their parents. 49% of the latter group said they were highly inclined to sign up for an online subscription video service once they move out on their own, compared to only 31% that were highly inclined to sign up for a traditional pay-TV service when they set up their own household (a difference of 58%).
“While this data can be spun to rationalize a number of arguments, the simplest insight may be the most profound,” notes Greeson. “The very fact that young consumers perceive online video services as somehow more desirable or necessary than incumbent pay-TV services says volumes about the future of video.”
