Consumers use nearly 10 streaming apps, as AVOD and FAST rise: TiVo

Consumers are continuing to up their streaming service count, as a recent TiVo survey unveiled people use on average nearly 10 different streaming apps – a trend fueled by the adoption of AVOD and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) content.

Nonpaid services accounted for about 32% of the average number of services in the second quarter, compared to 26% in Q4 2021. The Roku Channel ranked as the most popular ad-supported streaming service, with 21.5% of consumers reporting they used the service. Aside from The Roku Channel, the most popular services were Tubi (19.7%), Peacock (19.4%) and Pluto TV (17.1%).

For the study, TiVo surveyed over 4,500 consumers – all of whom were over the age of 18 – across the U.S. and Canada.

The uptick in streaming apps used is perhaps unsurprising. Speaking with Fierce Video earlier this year, Chris Ambrozic, SVP of product management for TiVo Discovery Solutions, said people are churning out of services at a faster rate, as they want to sample different content.

Indeed, roughly 24% of consumers said they only spend three months actively watching a new AVOD service before moving on to a new option. Respondents with pay TV subscriptions said they “hop” between AVOD services more than twice as much as broadband-only subscribers.

Parks Associates’ Eric Sorensen also recently noted an increase in churn across all OTT service providers, as consumers are comfortable with trying out many different streaming services to satisfy their needs.

Unsurprisingly, free content is the main driver towards AVOD and FAST, with most consumers (69.3%) saying that’s why they watch those services. Just over a quarter of respondents (27.2%) pointed out they’re willing to watch ads but not pay for content on AVOD and/or FAST services.

If people are increasing their streaming service count, it makes sense they might not want to pay more subscription fees. But despite inflation and socioeconomic concerns, TiVo found only 25% of consumers reduced their entertainment spending this year, while 70% named video entertainment a “moderate to high” priority for personal spending.

Self-reported spend on video actually increased over the last six months, from an average of $169.65 in Q4 2021 to $178.13 in Q2 2022.

TiVo’s last consumer survey highlighted some consumers – which the company called “cord revivers” – switched back to a pay TV subscription because they couldn’t find the entertainment they wanted from a streaming service.

Out of the 26% of pay TV subs who planned to cut the cord in Q4 2021, only 11% went through with it in the last six months. Content remains a key concern for cord-cutting, as nearly 37% of consumers said they weren’t sure if they could get all the entertainment they wanted if they switched to streaming.