Futuresource Consulting’s latest wave of Living with Digital consumer research highlights the continued shift in entertainment behaviour amongst respondents. One key trend is the emergence of TV as an increasingly connected device, either directly on the connected TV or through ancillary devices such as digital media adaptors (DMA) or connected set-top-boxes, both of which have emerged as very important devices.
“Connected TV activities and DMA uptake is increasingly driven by subscription video on demand (SVoD) services, which is why video viewing through these devices is more apparent in the UK and USA,” says David Sidebottom, Senior Analyst at Futuresource Consulting. Connectivity rates for connected TVs have risen to 79% of connected TV owners, with 63% accessing a service at least once a week.
The Connected Device
“Viewing any type of video is now the most popular entertainment activity on tablets at 57% of tablet owners across all countries, overtaking playing games. 24% of tablet owners now watch paid-for video, which is the highest in the USA at 34%,” says Sidebottom.
Digital Media Adaptors (DMA) have seen a big jump in ownership levels in this series of research and is finally making inroads outside of the USA. Ownership levels across all countries doubled to 10% of total respondents, with notable growth in the UK and Germany. Households with kids and OTT service users are significant drivers of uptake, US Netflix subscribers are four times more likely to own a DMA than non-Netflix subscribers. Multiple ownership is also evident, with around 40% of DMA households having more than one DMA.
“Cord-shaving (Removing Pay-TV packages rather than cancelling) movie packages is also increasingly evident, with 17% of US subscribers dropping a movie service compared to 13% in the previous wave, with 19-25 year olds and households with kids much more likely to do this,” says Sidebottom. “Of these cord-shavers, 21% say they are doing so to use online subscription services instead, up from 13% in the previous wave.”
Music Listening Dominated by Streaming Services
Music streaming is well and truly mass market and the most popular form of music consumption in all countries with 29% of the total base listening to free music streaming services and 42% Internet radio. The US leads the way with 50% of respondents listening to any type of streaming music service compared with just 21% in Germany. However, only 5% of the total base pay for a music streaming subscription service.
