TV Everywhere from pay-TV providers is picking up steam, according to NPD Group's "TV Everywhere Report," which says that 21 percent of pay-TV subscribers use TV Everywhere at least once a month.
The statistics should allay fears that over-the-top, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) opportunities will lead subscribers to cut or at least trim their cable cords. To the contrary, the NPD report said, SVOD subscribers are "actually among the most active TV Everywhere users" since three out of four SVOD homes also have a pay-TV subscription and 25 percent use the service provider's TV Everywhere service at least once a month.
"Though some SVOD subscribers may be cutting the cord, the evidence is that the overwhelming majority are not only keeping the cord, they are lengthening it through aggressive use of TV Everywhere," Russ Crupnick, senior vice president and industry analyst said in an NPD press release. "This speaks to the level of engagement that they have with programming and a comfort in using the Internet to both access and interact with that programming."
The research did not touch on the recent moves by some providers--Grande Communications, RCN, Suddenlink and Atlantic Broadband--to make OTT SVOD from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) more accessible to their consumers via TiVo-enabled set-top boxes. It did note that about 90 percent of SVOD subscribers are satisfied with their TV Everywhere experience and 46 percent want to be able to download shows to watch them outside the residence.
"TV everywhere is about mobility and control. Customers, especially subscription streamers are becoming accustomed to over-the-top options where the location and device are no longer barriers and they crave a similar experience with TV Everywhere," Crupnick said. "The way to keep SVOD subscribers using TV Everywhere platforms is to make the experience even more portable."
For more:
- NPD has this press release
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