Study: TV Set Still Tops

April 28, 2017
According to Horowitz Research, the rise of streaming video is being driven largely by the increase of streaming to the TV set. The research ...

According to Horowitz Research, the rise of streaming video is being driven largely by the increase of streaming to the TV set. The research house says that in 2013, TV viewers reported streaming 5% of their TV viewing to a TV set and 8% to a computer, cell phone, tablet or other handheld device. Today, TV viewers report spending 23% of their TV viewing time streaming to a TV set, while computer and mobile viewing has risen to a 14% share of viewing.

The study indicates that despite MVPDs' investments in VOD platforms, streaming far surpasses VOD as the go-to source for on-demand content, with streaming claiming 37% of weekly viewing and VOD claiming 5%. As streaming continues to grow, live TV and DVR viewing are becoming a smaller piece of the viewing pie, with live TV's viewing share falling from 58% in 2013 to 44% in 2017, and DVR's share declining from 15% to 9%.

Increased availability of content is contributing to audiences' growing love of TV; on average, TV content viewers report watching 5.2 hours of TV content daily, up from 4.5 hours daily in 2013.

"Though streaming and the emerging digital multichannel market is largely perceived as a threat to the traditional TV industry, the reality is that it has helped reinvigorate audiences' love of TV, no small thanks to the flexibility streaming allows," said Stephanie Wong, Horowitz's director of marketing and strategy. "Rediscovering old favorites, binging on the high quality original content developed by streaming services, and catching up on hot shows they may have missed when they premiered has created a richer, more complete TV experience. And while mobile is undoubtedly important when it comes to long-form TV content, the TV set remains the cornerstone of the TV experience."

The study was conducted by Horowitz Research in February as an online/phone survey among 2,505 TV content viewers who are heads of household 18+.