Experian Reports 'Cord Cutters' Continue To Increase

Experian Marketing Services has published its cross-device video analysis, which shows that 48 percent of all U.S. adults and 67 percent of young adults watch streaming or downloaded video during a typical week.

With the explosion of smartphones and digital tablets and the steady rise of Internet-connected home devices, consumers are watching more video when and where` they want than ever before. Mobile is the first screen for watching, streaming or downloading video, with 24 percent of all U.S. adults and 42 percent of smartphone owners watching this type of video each week.

The popularity of cross-device video streaming has led to a rise of “cord-cutting,” where consumers are using high-speed Internet and not cable or satellite TV. An estimated 7.6 million U.S. homes today are considered cord-cutters, up from 5.1 million homes in 2010, a relative increase of 44 percent.

Users of Netflix and Hulu are the most likely to be cord-cutters.“While we are seeing the way we view video drastically changing, television is likely to remain the primary device for consumer video; we just are witnessing the transition of the definition of television,” said John Fetto, senior analyst, marketing and research, Experian Marketing Services. “A third of Americans live in households with Internet-connected TVs, giving them the option to stream or download video to the television either directly or with devices such as Kindle Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV and Google Chromecast.”

Other findings from the analysis include:

• Video viewing on a smartphone jumps after the work day ends, with the most viewing occurring between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.
• While smartphone video viewing generally is lower during the day, there is clear evidence of a video “lunch” and a late-afternoon video “snack” break when smartphone video viewing spikes, especially among young adults
• The top three video properties across desktops and smartphones are: YouTube, Netflix and CNN
• Viewers of online video generally are more receptive to advertising, though only 27 percent of adults who watch video on a smartphone and 31 percent of those who view video on a tablet say that they find video ads on these devices useful

“While the growing trend in cord-cutting is understandably disturbing to cable and satellite companies and disruptive to the television advertising revenue model overall, the growth in online viewing creates opportunities for marketers,” said Fetto. “That’s because online video viewers can be targeted more easily and served up advertising that is more relevant, responsive and measureable. Marketers also can be more confident that their online ad actually was seen given that viewers typically are unable to skip ads.”