SVOD penetration now matches DVRs in U.S., Nielsen says

SVOD services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Video are now in about half of U.S. homes, matching penetration of DVRs, Nielsen said in its latest study. 

Just one year ago, subscription video on demand penetration stood at only around 45 percent, with DVR penetration at 50 percent. 

The benchmark is notable for the pay-TV industry, which leases most of the digital video recorders found in American residences. 

Simply put, viewers are watching a lot more on-demand programming on subscription streaming services, while using their DVRs less and less.

Nielsen found that average time spent by U.S. consumers watching time-shifted TV on DVRs has decreased about 3 percent over the last year. Viewing of TV on tablets is up 100 percent, however. Viewing on "multimedia devices" like Roku and Apple TV, meanwhile, is up 71 percent. 

Nearly 29 percent of homes have both a DVR and SVOD, up from only around 20 percent in 2015. These homes, Nielsen added, typically include the most avid TV video watchers. About 72 percent of U.S. homes have either a DVR or an SVOD service. 

For more:
- read this Nielsen report

Related articles:
Amazon Video debuts HDR slate of original series, movies
Viacom's first-ever direct-to-consumer SVOD app is BET Play
Millennials own the most smart TVs, Baby Boomers are bigger cord-cutters: has the world gone mad?