The content wars are truly being won by streaming services over traditional TV. Not only are viewers much more likely to default to an online source over an MVPD as the first thing they turn on when they want to watch TV, but they’re now more likely to default to a big-5 streaming service than to live TV, according to the latest report on the topic from Hub Entertainment Research.
The results show that TV viewers are more than twice as likely to turn to an online source as an MVPD set-top box when they want to watch something, with online sources continuing to widen the gap with MVPDs as the TV-viewing default, per the report.
Among the TV viewers ages 16-74 surveyed, 66% said that online sources are their default for watching TV, up from 60% last year and 53% the year prior. That’s about 2.5 times the proportion (26%) who said that the first thing they turn on when they want to watch is a source on an MVPD set-top box (live, DVR, or video-on-demand).
Furthermore, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services have for the first time overtaken live TV as viewers’ default sources. Some 52% of viewers turn on an SVOD service first when they want to watch TV, including 46% who default to a “big 5” service. By comparison, only 38% turn on live TV first (from MVPD, vMVPD, or OTA/antenna).
Last year, all SVOD services combined were neck and neck with live TV, whereas this year viewers are more likely to default to one of the top 5 services than to live TV.
For context, in 2018, the margin was more than 2:1 in favor of live TV over an SVOD (62% and 30%, respectively), demonstrating just how quickly the tides have turned.
Netflix continues to be the most popular streaming platform, and it has become itself as central to viewers’ experiences as traditional TV. For the first time, viewers are as likely to turn on Netflix (26% share) as they are to turn on an MVPD (live TV/DVR/VOD – 26%) when they want to watch something on TV. Just a few years ago, in 2021, the margin was again 2:1 in favor of MVPDs over Netflix (39% and 20%, respectively).
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