Research from the NPD Group indicates a shift in how much time Americans spend watching TV and movie content and how they're watching it. As subscribers to Netflix, Hulu and other over-the-top (OTT) subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services continues to increase, so too does the amount of time viewers watch television and movies on their TVs, personal computers and mobile devices. Consumers viewed one more hour per week of TV and movie content in August 2017 than they did the previous year.
The research house says viewing is shifting from live TV to subscription services, as more streaming content is made available.
"Digital content continues to reshape the video landscape," said Graham Gee, president of video entertainment, the NPD Group. "SVOD had the highest year-over-year increase, with almost half the population streaming video, but purchasing downloadable content is also gaining traction."
NPD noted an 8 percentage-point year-over-year rise in subscription video streaming during the 12 months ending August 2017 and a 2 percentage-point increase in electronic sell-through (EST), where consumers pay a one-time fee to download and keep a media file. The share of U.S. consumers using only SVOD services to watch content increased from 11% in August 2016 to 15% this year.
One-third of the population still buys and rents video content, in addition to using streaming services.
"When it comes to entertainment, few consumers limit themselves to one single option," Gee said. "Going out to the movies, watching cable TV, and viewing DVDs at home are still very popular activities, even as subscriptions to streaming services rise."
NPD's "Entertainment Trends in America" report is based on 7,290 completed online surveys from members of NPD's online panel.
