Streaming surges to new heights
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Editor
| 08 August 2021
Despite more live entertainment options opening as covid restrictions are eased, people are spending more time and money on streaming services now than they did during height of pandemic says research from JD Power.
TMT Streaming 8 Aug 2021
For the third instalment of its streaming pulse survey, the analyst took responses from 1,209 US adults who share their viewing preferences, usability challenges and plans for using these subscription-based services.

The analyst found fundamentally that even as virtually all pandemic restrictions have lifted, and the demand for live events, dining and travel has exploded, streaming services are consuming an increasingly large share of the entertainment market. So much so, according to the report, that monthly customer spending on streaming platforms has nearly doubled since spring of 2020. Overall, 79% of respondents said they were spending the same or more time streaming than they did six months ago.

Moreover, JD Power noted that more than any other change in the nature of television, it seemed as though the mass quarantine of 2020 acted as the impetus for a shift in customer behaviour that will forever alter the way content in consumed.

In addition, the study found that the use of an app on a mobile phone or tablet to connect to streaming content jumped to 36% of viewership in June 2021 from 25% in April 2020. Respondents who said they used an app on their smart TV rose just 4% during the same time period. Apps now represent the second-most used streaming connection path. Separate hardware platforms like Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast also got sizable boosts for reasons that could run the gamut from retrofitting a non-connected TV to make it “smart,” or accessing services that may not be available on specific brands of smart TV.

As a result of the uptick in consumption, JD Powers said customers now have a far greater tolerance for streaming bills, as monthly budget allocation to on-demand content has become as ubiquitous on a household balance sheet as a line item for mobile phones and car payments. Respondents said that they pay an average of $55 per month on streaming, up 17% since December, up 45% since April 2021.

Despite some speculating the streaming boom has reached a saturation point, the study revealed that the number of households that say they subscribe to four or more services rose to 57% from 50%. The analyst attributed part of the rise was likely due to emerging platforms in the market that capitalise on the disparate nature of streaming services to promote a need to subscribe to a number of platforms.

In terms of what content was driving uptake, the JD Power study Friends was the third-most streamed show in June, which helped boost HBO Max to a 41% subscription rate among respondents, up from 22% in December and trailing only Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and Disney+.

Meanwhile, the May 28 debut of the second-half of season 5 of Lucifer–the most streamed show in the month of June—helped Netflix+ maintain its industry-leading market share. Overall, 89% of respondents said they subscribe to Netflix, followed by Amazon Prime (76%), Hulu (64%), and Disney+ (52%). All three of those runners up experienced significant jumps, particularly Amazon Prime, which is the first non-Netflix platform to break the 70% mark.