Accenture: About half of consumers watching OTT on TV

There is a "seismic shift in consumer viewing habits" occurring in the United States and U.K. as nearly half of all consumers watch broadband-delivered over-the-top content on their televisions, Accenture's "Pulse of Media Consumer Survey" says.

"The connected consumer is now comfortably viewing TV shows and video on a variety of screens, as well as sharing opinions of that content via social channels or recommendation engines," said Robin Murdoch, a managing director of Accenture's Media & Entertainment industry group, in a news release.

The last time Accenture measured OTT video consumption, in March 2011, only about 8 percent of consumers subscribed to a video delivery service. This survey found "49 percent of consumers across the board subscribe to a range of video delivery services," the press release said.

These subscriptions in the United States include services such as Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) Instant Streaming at 27 percent, while in the U.K. 26 percent subscribe to Netflix, LOVEFiLM, BBC's iPlayer on TV service or Sky Go/Now TV, the survey added.

"Television remains the primary device for watching full-length shows, and PCs and laptops are the dominant device for short video clips," the survey said.

Perhaps of greatest interest to content providers, the survey found that 36 percent of consumers said they would be willing to pay to see a favorite show continued, with 18 percent willing to pay $25 or more and half willing to pay $1 to $4.

"The new media landscape has enabled curating, consuming and commenting on TV and video content to become a simple, seamless experience," said Murdoch. "With youth leading the movement, we anticipate that these trends will intensify in the coming years."

For more:
- Accenture issued this press release

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