• by Alex Weprin , November 2, 2018

Consumers are quickly embracing streaming television, as better content, better technology, and new bundles helped drive usage by mid-double digits.

According to the "State of the Streaming TV Industry" report for Q3 2018, produced by the measurement and intelligence platform Conviva, streaming TV saw a 52% jump in plays, and a 63% rise in total viewing hours year-over-year.

That growth was driven by a number of factors, including easier access to live streaming sports, such as the World Cup and NFL football.

Conviva’s report says “NFL streaming in September alone accounted for roughly 3% of total streaming plays and viewing hours in the U.S.”, as well as better quality, reliability and performance from providers.

In addition, virtual MVPDs, which seek to replace the traditional cable bundle with a similar streaming service, saw their use rise by 292% year-over-year in video starts and 212% in viewing hours.

Of course, for every winner in the space, there are also losers.

As vMVPDs surge, publisher apps declined by 16% in plays and 19% in viewing hours compared to last year. Likewise, consumption of streaming video on PCs was down 18%, compared to last year.

Consumption on connected TV sets and devices was up 145%, and mobile views were up 57%.

The full report is here.