• by Wayne Friedman , September 26, 2014

A new report from researcher GfK shows video game systems are still the dominant way to access Netflix on a TV set for 43% of those surveyed, but that's down from 48% in 2013 and from 62% in 2011.

At the same time, 28% of those who stream Netflix on a TV set use set-top-box devices, such as Roku, Apple TV, or Chromecast digital media players. This is nearly down that of a year ago when it was 15% and up from 6% in 2011.

Millennials ages 13-34 are still big videogame users when it comes to streaming Netflix via TV sets, at 47% -- with 27% saying they get it via digital media player. Only 19% stream Netflix through internal apps via their TV sets. 

By contrast, 34% of those 49-64 get their Netflix through on-TV set apps -- the highest percentage for the subscription video-on-demand service. Next come 20% each for using a digital media player and a Blu-ray player. Only 19% get Netflix through a video game system.

Discussing the difference between devices, David Tice, senior vice president at GfK, who write the report, said: “Not only do the device interface and remote control need to be user-friendly, but things like on-screen font size and menus need to be age-appropriate. With a quarter of Netflix users also being Amazon Prime or Hulu viewers, there is a potential battle in user experience as well as in variety and exclusivity of content.”