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Streaming devices now driving OTT VOD use on TV

Streaming devices now driving OTT VOD use on TV

The impact of cheap streaming devices in driving VOD use on TV screens has been revealed in the latest Mediabug report.

The study, produced bi-annually by Decipher, reports on how new technology is impacting media consumption and is based on an online consumer survey of 3,000 UK consumers.

For the latest wave, Mediabug shows that low-cost devices such as Amazon Fire Stick, Roku and Google Chromecast are having a bigger effect than in the past.

Having previously reported a slowdown in the uptake of services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video and NOW TV, the study has shown that this was short-lived and that take up of new devices was a “significant factor” in the turnaround.

The return to growth means that now 30% of online UK consumers claim to have an VOD subscription, up from 23% in Q1 2015. Netflix is still the main provider, with now 23% of online consumers claiming to have a subscription.

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Amazon Prime Instant Video saw its claimed subscriptions rise by 5 percentage points since Q3 last year to 13%, and Sky’s NOW TV subs grew by 2 percentage points and are now at 6%. DisneyLife enters the SVOD market at 2%, having launched last November.

Devices that enable OTT video streaming to TV sets, which also include Apple TV and the NOW TV box, have appeared as significant drivers of uptake for the first time, the report found.

All devices showed increased ownership since Q3, 2015. The most significant uptake was shown by the relatively new Amazon Fire TV Stick, which saw claimed ownership increase from 2% to 6% of online consumers – representing roughly 1.4 million homes.

The larger and more expensive Amazon Fire Box sold 450,000 devices over the same period. These have proved popular because they allow a user to access Netflix and BBC iPlayer as well as use Amazon’s own video services.

The report goes on to state that the big loser in tech market is the PC, with share of time spent watching online VOD via a PC or laptop down five points to 21% (as a share of all online VOD viewing).

However, games consoles also declined from 15% to 13% of total online VOD viewing.

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