Over 35s driving subscription VOD, report finds
New figures form Decipher’s bi-annual Mediabug report reveal how growth in usage of subscription video on-demand (SVOD) services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, has been solely due to those over the age of 35.
According to the report, 30% of UK consumers use a SVOD service each month, up 4% in six months. However, growth has been driven by older age groups, with 35-44s up 7%, 45-54s up 15% and 55+ up 8%, while growth among the 16-24 age group dropped 12% over the same period.
The report states that the rise is being propelled by the increasing availability of SVOD services on televisions, set-top boxes and smart TVs.
While BARB figures recently reported declines in live viewing, the increase in appetite for TV-based subscription VOD has not significantly impacted Pay-TV numbers, with 81% of smart TV homes also having a Pay-TV subscription – a figure that has been increasing for the past two years.
Director of Decipher Media Research Dr. Hamish McPharlin said: “In Wave 6 we’re seeing a subtle shift in tone when it comes to digital consumption.
“With over 35s getting on board with subscription VOD, we can see that it has moved past early adopter behaviour and is gaining mainstream acceptance, and this is driven by SVOD becoming increasingly accessible on the most popular mainstream device: the TV.”
The research also found that BBC iPlayer reaches more regular viewers through TV set-top boxes (29%) than it does through the web, devices and smart TVs combined (29%).
iPlayer usage remains fairly evenly split, according to its latest performance results, with 16-34 year olds making up a 38% share of the total audience and 25-54s accounting for 39%.
NOW TV has increased Sky’s monthly VOD reach by just over 3%, with three in 10 residents who have broadband internet accessing Sky or NOW TV on-demand either through a set-top box or online through a multitude of devices monthly.
The report found that there is only a very small overlap in Sky and NOW TV’s online VOD audience, which Decipher says suggests NOW TV has enabled Sky to reach new online VOD customers.
Films were found to be the most popular VOD choice, with just over a third of TV VOD viewers accessing films on-demand in the last month.
According to BARB’s viewing report, the number of films on live TV securing audiences of over 2.5 million has dropped significantly in the last 10 years; however, the report states that the importance of films in terms of TV VOD usage suggests that audiences are still viewing films but increasingly preferring to do so via VOD.