More than half
of the U.S. population and 80% of Internet users are now streaming video as part of their regular TV diet, according to a new study from Omnicom media agency OMD.
The study suggests that
the video streaming trend is poised to grow further with technological advances that improve the quality of the experience.
Streamers already deviate from the traditional viewing standard:
about 27% of their TV intake occurs outside of regularly scheduled programming times.
It prompts the question -- just how a big a threat is streaming to normal programing patterns as
transmitted by broadcasters, cable and satellite operators?
The study showed that 24% of the nearly 1,600 respondents who regularly stream videos have either already cancelled their cable or
satellite service or are open to doing so. The research did not specifically address the reasons for that churn, or the mindset to consider cancellation.
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But at the very least, the growth in
viewing to video streams should be setting off alarms at mainstream TV programmers. Of course, many are on the case: CBS has an agreement with Netflix and NBC, ABC and Fox are partners in Hulu, to
name just a couple of examples.
OMD researchers say they don't believe that video streaming will become the primary TV programing source, at least in the foreseeable future. "We don't look at
it as a replacement for TV, but rather as a complement to traditional TV viewing," said Erin Bilezikjian-Johnson, group director, custom Research & Insights, OMD.
The reasons for the growing
popularity of streamed content are pretty clear. People don't want to be tied to programming schedules dictated by others; they find the number of ads and interruptions -- as well as the general tenor
of the messaging in traditional TV channels -- to be annoying, per the study.
That said, the study also found that nearly two-thirds of respondents would not cancel their cable or satellite
service and rely solely on streaming video. For now, quality appears to be an issue curbing the growth of video streaming.
When asked why they don't watch more streaming videos, the answer
most often provided (37%) by those polled was that they simply prefer watching regular TV. And 22% said that streams were "difficult to watch with other people." Twenty percent cited general quality
issues, while another 20% said streaming screens were too small.
But those objections will likely vanish with "improvements in the quality of the video streaming video experience," thus
fueling additional growth, the OMD report stated.
Among those who regularly view streamed content, about one-third of respondents said they do it daily or multiple times a day. Another 14%
said they do it four to six times a week, while 20% reported viewing streamed content two to three times a week.
Overall growth is likely to come from older viewers -- as two-thirds of
respondents 35 years old and up said they would watch more streamed content in the next 12 months than they do now, compared to only about a third of the 18- to-34-year-olds. But younger viewers will
drive video streaming to additional technology platforms. About half of the respondents age 34 or younger said they planned to watch more content on portable devices in the future, compared to just 7%
of those 50 and up.
The top five most popular streamed genres, the study reported, are weather reports, news, full-length TV shows, celebrity news and gossip and music videos. The takeaway for
advertisers, said Pamela Marsh, director of custom research and insights, OMD: "If the intent of the advertiser is to achieve larger reach," then news and weather and other "time-sensitive content"
should be part of the buy.
The top reasons cited for watching: entertainment, the freedom to watch at any time, to catch up on a missed programs, the ability to watch anywhere and commercial
avoidance.
As to formats, most of those polled said they would prefer to see an ad before a video stream than in the middle of it. And half said they would prefer to have a choice of ads to
consider being exposed to as opposed to being forced to watch a specific ad. Seventy percent said they would prefer to watch funny ads in video streaming -- more than double any other ad genre.