As video customers look to either supplement their viewing experience or dump their MVPD provider over price, it’s clear that more U.S. households are using a streaming device to access TV services.
Nearly two-thirds—58.7%—of U.S. adults, according to the second-quarter 2017 Nielsen Total Audience Report, now own a streaming device.
Offering consumers the option to access their content inside or outside of the home, Nielsen noted that tablets, smartphones and devices like Roku players “have become a constant companion to over 200 million consumers.”
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Each of these platforms—digital, audio and television—all have different attributes that appeal to video consumers.
On the TV set, consumers use internet-enabled TV-connected devices such as Roku and Amazon sticks to stream content to their television set in addition to traditional television programming. A growing number of companies are vying to become the dominant method to access OTT video services.
Interestingly, video game console makers such as Nintendo and Microsoft are competing with streaming device makers like Roku and Amazon and smart TV manufacturers like LG and Samsung to connect consumers to services like Netflix and Sling TV.
Most AM/FM-based audio radio usage takes place away from the home while consumers are at work or in transit during their commute. For digital, the two largest categories for time spent across computers, smartphones and tablets are entertainment and search engines/social networking.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Nielsen found that homes with streaming-capable devices tended to be from the millennial generation, with almost half under the age of 45. Those homes also tended to be in urban and suburban areas, with heads of household that worked in white-collar occupations.