12% of direct-to-consumer (D2C) streaming services in the United States are being paid for by someone outside of the immediate household.
New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group found 86% of US households have at least one streaming video service from 15 top subscription video-on-demand and D2C services, and 50% of households have four or more D2C streaming video services.
However, Leichtman found more evidence that a significant number of D2C subscriptions are used by viewers other than those who are paying directly for them.
- 68% of all DTC services are fully paid for and are not shared with others outside the household
- 27% of all DTC services are used in more than one household
- 13% of DTC services are used and paid for by those that also share them with someone outside the household.
“About six out of every seven households now have a streaming video service, and half of all households have four or more streaming services. Yet, many of these services are being shared,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. “Over one-quarter of all D2C services are shared with others outside the household, including 12% of all D2C services that are ‘borrowed’ from someone else’s subscription. Overall, 17% of households have at least one D2C service that is fully paid for by someone else.”
Leichtman also found that among all ages 18-44, the mean number of D2C streaming services is 4.8 – compared to 4.0 among ages 45-54, and 2.5 among ages 55+. Among ages 18-34, 17% of all DTC services are fully paid for by someone else – compared to 8% among ages 35+. Ages 18-34 account for 55% of all DTC services that are fully paid for by someone else.
Internet-Delivered TV Services 2023 is based on an online survey of 3,501 adults age 18+ from throughout the United States.
