Parks: Consumers are Spending Less on Video Entertainment Outside of Pay-TV
Average monthly expenditure on video entertainment outside of a pay-TV subscription has dropped from $29 two years ago to $23 in the last half of 2017 for U.S. broadband households, according to a new video entertainment spending report from Parks Associates.The research firm notes spending on internet video has held steady at roughly $9 per month for several years, while reduced spending on cinema tickets and DVDs/Blu-ray discs contributed significantly to the overall decline.
Video Entertainment Spending
The research firm issued a pair of new studies — 360 View: Digital Media and Connected Consumers and 360 View: Access and Entertainment in U.S. Broadband Households — that also show a decline in multiplatform usage among households, as use rates on individual screens declined even though overall video viewing has held steady.
Parks Associates notes that many viewers want access to their OTT services through their pay-TV set-top box. Currently, one-fifth of pay-TV subscribers can access online video services through their set-top box, and one-third of pay-TV subscribers say access to OTT via a pay-TV user interface or channel guide is appealing.
“The number of overall consumers viewing video on a connected device remains steady at 92% of U.S. broadband households, but viewers are using fewer devices to access that content,” said Brett Sappington, Parks Associates senior director, in a prepared statement. “This finding indicates that consumers are starting to settle into particular viewing habits. They are focusing more on their favorite screen and connected devices and are reducing time spent on other video screens.”
Other highlights of the reports include:
- The increasing number of partnerships between pay-TV and OTT providers is driving the number of U.S. pay-TV households subscribing to an online video service through their pay-TV provider from 10% a year ago to 21% now.
- Households watch an average of 14.6 hours per week of video on a TV screen.