North American consumers cut video entertainment spend by 11%, TiVo survey finds
Self-declared average spend per month on video in US and Canadian homes has fallen to an average of $157.47 in Q4 2024 versus $176.84 a year earlier, according to the Q4 2024 Video Trends Report from TiVo. This represents an 11% decline.
The spend figures, as a comparison, were $189.38 in Q4 2022 and $169.65 in Q4 2021.
TiVo, which provides user experience solutions for pay-TV and connected TV, surveyed 3,485 US and 1,005 Canadian adults. The study found that, among those who cancelled a subscription VOD service within the last six months, 17% said they did so because they were not using it enough, while 16.9% said it was because the service raised its prices.
While approximately one-fifth of respondents said they review their video entertainment spend every few months, and a tenth do so every month, 34% have no plans to re-evaluate their video spend. That is a 6% rise in “contented” consumers since the last survey.
Perhaps surprisingly, the frequency of spend re-evaluation has little relationship to income, with a similar pattern seen across all income levels.
The Video Trends Report looked at consumer viewing behaviour and found that, among respondents who own a smart TV, the primary methods for watching streaming videos are apps built into their smart TV (at 48.4%), followed by a streaming media player (27.1%), apps built into a game console (7.3%), casting from a device to TV (3.8%) and apps built into a set-top box/DVR (2.9%).
Apps built into smart TVs have been gaining usage slightly, mainly at the expense of streaming media players.
Sports enthusiasm
The survey provides useful insights around sports viewing behaviour in the US and Canada, finding that 77.9% of participants watch sports regularly, with 40.3% of those stating that a pay-TV service is the primary way they consume their sports content. Respondents take up an average of 2.4 video services in order to watch their favourite sport.
Speaking ahead of Christmas, 43.8% of respondents who subscribed to Netflix said they would probably or definitely watch the NFL Christmas Day games and 28.5% of those who were not Netflix subscribers said they might join in order to see those games.
The survey found that the primary platforms used by sports watchers, among smart TV owners, were Roku TV, Tizen and Google TV.
In-car entertainment viewing grew 6% year on year, the study found. Respondents said they use in-car viewing to pass the time while waiting and to keep children entertained. Of those who watch video in the car, 75.1% reported doing so at least a few times a month.
Ad tolerance on the rise
Consumer tolerance for TV advertising (across all TV delivery) rose year on year from 75.3% to 76.2%, while 41.6% of respondents said they prefer personalised ads (regardless of which platforms or services they use).
Just over a third (34.6%) of participants shared a subscription VOD password for at least one service during the survey period. Around half said they prefer streaming services to release an entire TV series at once, with 19% preferring episodes to be released weekly (and the others showing no preference).
Geir Skaaden, chief product and services officer at TiVo parent Xperi, said: “We are seeing a shift in consumer priorities as they look for ways to reduce the number of services they use without sacrificing access to quality content.
“As consumers face economic uncertainty, there will be increased pressure on the entertainment industry to deliver quality content and keep users engaged for long periods of time.”