Streaming content has overtaken live programming as the viewing method-of-choice in the US. According to the latest Deloitte Digital Democracy Survey, 56% of consumers are now streaming movies and 53% streaming television on a monthly basis, as compared to 45% of consumers preferring to watch television programmes live.
The report also found that younger viewers have moved to watching TV shows on mobile devices rather than on television.
Among Trailing Millennials (age 14-25), nearly 60% of time spent watching movies occurs on computers, tablets and smartphones, making movie viewing habits decidedly age-dependent.
The report in addition found that the trend of binge watching – viewing three or more programme episodes at one sitting – is prevalent, with 68% of consumers doing so today. In fact, 31% of Americans who binge-watch, do so at least once a week, led by Trailing Millennials, who binge watch more frequently than any other generation at 42%.
TV dramas are the most popular television genre to binge-watch, commanding 54% of binge-watchers’ attention; a characteristic more pronounced among females. Additionally, 20% of Americans binge watch comedies, with more being male.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Gerald Belson, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and US Media & Entertainment sector leader, said: “Personal viewing experiences and the ability to consume media at your own pace is significantly impacting how US consumers value their content devices and services.
“Today, binge-watching, and the ability to watch what we want, when we want, and where we want, is an exciting cultural phenomenon that is shifting consumer behaviours and attitudes towards curating an individual experience.”
Among the other findings in the report were:
Almost 40% of consumers and 54% of Trailing Millennials play at least some video games on a daily or weekly basis
Of the time spent on playing games, 24 % of consumers play on gaming consoles, 21% on a smartphone and 11% on tablet devices
Gaming consoles are no longer being used solely for gaming anymore, with 38 % of consumers using them to stream movies and television online, and 29 % using their consoles to view online content
Millennials, which the survey divided into Leading Millennials (age 26-31) and Trailing Millennials (age 14-25), are increasingly influencing product and service functionalities and eager to adopt, even model, the next big thing.
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% of Millennials.
Furthermore, more than half (58%) of Trailing Millennial subscribers still value pay-TV, with 22 % 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% of subscribers were shown to value pay-TV, with 25% 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% 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.
