Along with huge spikes in viewership for subscription VOD services, pay TV VOD libraries are also seeing increased usage during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to a new consumer survey conducted by The Diffusion Group (TDG), 77% of adult broadband users who subscribe to a pay TV service watch shows and movies through the service's on-demand feature and of those, 60% report spending more time watching on-demand programming while under stay at home orders.
"Much has been written about recent spikes in the use of on-demand streaming video services such as Netflix and Disney+, and for good reason," said Michael Greeson, president and principal analyst at TDG, in a statement. "Our findings clearly demonstrate that, being largely confined to their homes, consumers see tremendous value in having access to on-demand shows and movies. And this holds true for all such services, including those offered by pay-TV providers."
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TDG said its research also showed that on-demand viewers under the age of 45 were almost twice as likely as those 45 and older to have significantly increased on-demand use (23% vs. 13% respectively). The survey also suggests that 21% of respondents using virtual pay TV on-demand report significant increases in viewing, a bit higher than their cable and fiber pay TV counterparts at 19%. In the meantime, satellite on-demand viewers fall behind their counterparts, with 13% of respondents reporting significant increases in VOD usage.
TDG said in conducted its research in late April 2020 and surveyed 1,997 U.S. adults with a broadband data service in the home about their TV and video behaviors.