Baby Boomers Being Overlooked?

According to the Diffusion Group, service providers may be overlooking Baby Boomers. The research house says Boomers comprise nearly a third of U.S. adult broadband users and are significantly more likely than other segments to subscribe to traditional pay TV, making them excellent candidates for increasing revenue via sales of operator value-added services.

TDG says the "race to the bottom" that currently defines operator strategy - that is, the targeting of Millennials with ever skinnier bundles - has drawn energy and resources away from efforts to grow ARPU among "Broadband Boomers."

"Unlike Millennials, Broadband Boomers are quite loyal to their current operators and have very deep pockets," wrote Nick Beyer, TDG analyst. "Yes, they are less tech-savvy than younger consumers, but they are increasingly connected. The question, then, is how operators can better tap into the specific needs of this segment."

"TDG's research indicates that 57% of Broadband Boomers have a net-connected TV," wrote Michael Greeson, president of TDG. "As well, time spent viewing TV streaming is increasing among this segment. Among smart TV users, 59% report an increase in TV streaming over the last year. The same holds for all streaming devices used by this segment."

That's good news for OTT TV service providers, who have plenty of headroom among this segment. Uptake of Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) among this segment, for example, is only 36%, meaning close to 40% of those with connected TVs have yet to subscribe to the service.