Parks: 82% of Broadband Households Subscribe to OTT, Virtual Pay-TV on the Rise

Share:

Eighty-two percent of US broadband households subscribe to at least one OTT service, while more than half (58%) subscribe to a traditional pay-TV service, according to a new report from Parks Associates.

In the research firm’s Consumer Insights Dashboard, Parks Associates found that the percentage of US broadband households subscribing to at least one OTT service had climbed 6 percentage points from a year ago. The percentage subscribing to pay-TV service dropped four percentage points from the previous year.

Additionally, the report says that one quarter of US broadband households subscribe to a TV service offering a bundle of live channels via an online provider, including 13% who have both traditional and online pay-TV services.

Also increasing is the use of virtual MVPDs, streaming pay-TV services that offer bundles of live channels like Sling TV, YouTube TV and others, which grew four percentage points to 18% in the first quarter of 2021.

“The steady rise in online pay-TV adoption has made up for some of the significant drops in traditional pay TV,” said Steve Nason, Parks Associates research director, in a prepared statement. “Video consumers are looking to online pay-TV services, either from a traditional provider or vMVPD, to offer a similar viewing experience and content offering to traditional pay TV but at a lower price point. However, online pay-TV providers, who don’t typically generate content on their own, have had trouble stabilizing subscriber costs as content fees continue to rise.”

Nason added: “The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated many existing trends in the video services market. Moving forward, consumer preferences will continue to shift online as video viewers perceive these services to be less costly, more convenient, and more aligned with how they want to consume video programming.”