• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, September 18, 2024

First stop for TV viewers these days? Now, for the first time, it is clearly for streaming platforms, according to new Hub Entertainment Research.

Nearly half of respondents (46%) say their "first stop" destination is among the "big 5" streaming services -- Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Hulu, or Max -- up from 35% in 2021 and 30% in 2018.

Traditional pay TV platforms -- cable, satellite, telco, and virtual -- are now at 38%, down from 53% three years ago in 2021 and 62% in 2018.

Drilling down to specific channels and streamers, 26% say Netflix is their first stop after turning on their TV sets. Hub Entertainment says live TV (cable, satellite, telco, virtual) also comes in at 26%.

Well behind Netflix are Hulu at 8%, followed by Amazon Prime Video at 6%, Max with 3% and Disney+ at 3% .

And while some viewers are still devoted to live TV from traditional pay TV providers as their first choice, 24% say they would cancel live TV if they “had” to, when it comes to dropping one specific TV provider.  

This is not at the same level for those devoted, first-choice consumers of streaming platforms, where 3% to 13% would drop a streaming service -- if they "had" to. 

What specifically pulls loyal consumers for the preferred platforms? 

Half of those who make live TV their "first stop" do so for news and sports content. For those top five streaming platforms, 42% point to their “favorite” shows. When it comes to those FAST networks (Free Advertising-Supported/Streaming TV), 48% say its “variety” programming.

Hub's results come from August 2024 interviews with 1,600 U.S. consumers with broadband ages 16-74, who watch at least 1 hour of TV per week.