Close to 70% of Britons are paying to watch TV, but the threat of cord cutting in favour of online services is overplayed, according to a new Nielsen report.
Nielsen’s Global Video-on-Demand Report polled more than 30,000 online respondents in 61 countries. It shows half of Britons watch some form of VOD programming, compared to 65% globally.
“The increasing popularity of online-only TV services will continue to put pressure on the likes of Sky and Virgin, but a wholesale replacement of these traditional subscription players is unlikely,” says Nielsen executive vice president of digital for Europe, Terrie Brennan. “For most UK viewers, online VOD and traditional subscription services are complementary, so we’re more likely to see “cord shaving” – consumers choosing slimmer subscription packages from the traditional players, rather than cancelling them outright.”
Among British VOD viewers, 35% watch VOD at least once a day, compared to 43% globally.
The type of content viewed in the UK using on-demand services contrasts markedly with that viewed in most other parts of the world. Britons are more likely to watch TV programmes (74%) on-demand than films (64%). Whereas, globally, many more people use VOD to watch films (80%) than TV programmes (50%). The contrast is similar across Europe (77% vs. 39%).