NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New research from GfK shows that, despite larger user bases, video-on-demand (VOD) offerings from pay-TV providers are losing their war against streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime.
David Tice, Senior Vice President on GfK’s Media and Entertainment team, will be presenting highlights from this study on Thursday at IIR’s The Media Insights and Engagement Conference in Miami, Florida.
The report, How People Use® Media: TV Everywhere/VOD, shows that 56% of consumers in homes with cable, satellite, or telco TV service say they use VOD or a “TV Everywhere”-type offering from their TV provider. By contrast, 41% of the same group say they use a subscription streaming service.
In terms of customer satisfaction, however, streaming services are the clear favorite, rated “better” than VOD by 44% of those who use both; by comparison, 27% prefer VOD, and 29% say the two are equal.
But there is a silver lining for TV service providers: Those who use VOD more often like it much better. Among users of both service types who turn to VOD at least once a week, on-demand becomes the favorite – preferred by 43%, versus 30% for streaming services.
“Pay-TV providers are getting sampling for their VOD services – but they need to gain repeat users to start winning the perception battle,” said David Tice, Senior Vice President of GfK Media and Entertainment. “Consumers are open to considering alternatives to Netflix; but a lack of education and of effective marketing are letting these key pay-TV assets languish in the shadows.”
Similarly, perceptions of the “variety and choice” of programming available via VOD are dramatically more favorable among those who use it more frequently. Among the once-a-week-plus user group, VOD is perceived as essentially equal to Netflix and similar services in terms of viewing choices; 57% cite VOD as having “excellent” or “very good” variety, versus 55% for paid streaming. But those who use VOD less than once a week see the streaming services as highly superior in choice – 67% versus 28%.
In contrast, another type of service, TV Everywhere, is having a notable and growing impact on subscriber churn for pay TV providers. Among users of TV Everywhere in pay-TV homes, 28% feel more satisfied with their pay-TV service (up from 24% last year), and 33% are less likely to change pay-TV providers (up from 25% last year).
This positive assessment is even more striking among those who are users of subscription streaming services – a group considered more at risk of becoming “cord-cutters.” Over one-third (35%) of this contingent are more satisfied with their pay-TV service, and 39% say they are less likely to change providers.
Based on interviews with 1,007 persons ages 13 to 64 in pay-TV homes, How People Use® Media: TV Everywhere/VOD also covers such topics as
- consumer perceptions of what TV Everywhere means;
- use of different TV Everywhere platforms (computers, smartphones, and tablets) and use of pay TV VOD services;
- impact of TV Everywhere and VOD use on attitudes towards TV service providers;
- ease of TV Everywhere authentication;
- attitudes of VOD users to SVOD services; and
- trends against similar questions in previous waves.
About GfK
GfK is one of the world’s largest research companies, with around 13,000 experts working to discover new insights into the way people live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most important people in the world: their customers. In 2012, GfK’s sales amounted to €1.51 billion.
To find out more, visit www.gfk.com/us or follow GfK on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GfK_en.
