According to the Leichtman Research Group, 18- to 34-year-olds account for 53% of adults in the United States who have a live streaming Internet-delivered pay TV service (such as Sling TV, DirecTV NOW, PlayStation Vue, Hulu with Live TV, or You Tube TV). Overall, 11% of adults ages 18-44 currently have an Internet-delivered pay TV service, compared to 3% of ages 45 and older.
Among all who have an Internet-delivered pay TV service, 93% also have a subscription video on-demand (SVOD) service from Netflix, Amazon Prime and/or Hulu. Additionally, 49% of Internet-delivered pay TV subscribers have a TV antenna for watching over-the-air (OTA) broadcast TV, and 35% also have a pay TV service from a traditional (cable, satellite, or telco) provider.
The findings are based on an online survey of 6,947 households from throughout the United States and are part of a new LRG study, "Internet-Delivered Pay TV Services." The study is LRG's first on the topic.
Other findings indicate:
- 12% of adults who moved in the past year have an Internet-delivered pay TV service, compared to 6% of non-movers.
- Internet-delivered pay TV subscribers watch those services at home 78% of the time, compared to 80% at home viewing of HBO NOW and 88% at home viewing of Netflix.
- 69% of current Internet-delivered pay TV subscribers are very satisfied with their service, but 27% say they are very likely to switch from an Internet-delivered pay TV service in the next six months.
- 24% of those who do not currently have an Internet-delivered pay TV service are very interested in getting one.
- 76% of all adults agree that there are specific networks or programming genres that are "must haves" for a TV service in their household. This includes 88% of those very interested in getting an Internet-delivered pay TV service.
"There is clearly a growing niche market for lower-cost/lower-channel live streaming pay TV services, particularly among younger, more mobile renters, and those living in households with more people," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for LRG. "Currently, these Internet-delivered pay TV services are augmenting other sources of video in home, and consumers are experimenting with the various streaming pay TV services to discover what combinations of video offerings work best for their household."