SVOD
SVOD viewers prefer watching new shows on subscription streaming over live TV
Research from Aluma has revealed that if a programme is available simultaneously on both a subscription video on-demand (SVOD) streaming service and a live TV channel, adult SVOD viewers are more than twice as likely to prefer the former option.
The study took place in December 2022 and surveyed 1,947 US adult broadband users who were charge of purchasing media services for their household and that watch SVOD services on TV. Aluma balanced the sample to represent SVOD viewers and their households.
The survey identified the reasons most age cohorts prefer subscription streaming services to live TV channels. Namely, it has less advertising; viewers can watch shows at their convenience versus when scheduled; it’s where they watch shows most of the time; and it’s easier to find interesting content to watch.
In addition, the younger the adult, the more likely they were to prefer to view a new show on an SVOD service versus a traditional TV channel. Almost two-fifths (37%) of SVOD buyers ages 65 and older preferred to watch a new show on a traditional live TV channel, 50% more than prefer to watch it on a live TV channel (28%). By contrast, SVOD buyers ages 55-64 were 1.4 times more likely to prefer a paid streaming service over a live TV channel, a rate that increases as age declines. Viewers 18-24 years of age were 5.3 times more likely to prefer SVOD over live TV channels when viewing a new show.
While older generations of buyers placed more weight than other cohorts on SVOD having less advertising, younger buyers were more likely to emphasise that subscription streaming is where they watch most shows and that it’s easier to search and find interesting content to watch.
“The only SVOD cohort that prefers live TV channels over paid streaming is the 65 and older segment. That is telling,” noted Michael Greeson, founder and chief analyst at Aluma. “All others prefer streaming over linear, even the 55-64 segment, who were mostly middle-aged adults when Netflix launched in 2007. Yet they too prefer streaming over live linear TV channels. The results of our study are pretty straightforward. When networks consider where to debut programming to best reach younger adults, an SVOD-first strategy will work best.”
