Hub Entertainment Research, a consumer entertainment behavior think-tank, discovered the dwindling number of live TV consumers. It deduced the trend as an offshoot of viewers adopting more contemporary platforms.
Based on the latest edition of the annual “Decoding the Default,” there is a steady surge in the use of multiple platforms. This has been happening alongside a conspicuous trend of the exodus of live TV viewers.
Following the TV sources which are popular among American viewers, the study found out that merely 39 percent of the audiences now say that from a traditional pay-TV service, they switch on live, linear TV first. The figure reflected a nosedive of eight points for over a year.
Baby Boomers were recorded as the majority (or 56 percent) of the people who still watch live TV. Last year, this number was two-thirds of such audience.
Merely a quarter, or 26 percent, of the millennials who are 18 to 34 years of age remark that live TV is their default. In 2017, it was over a third or 35 percent.
The report indicated that the audiences are now, more than ever, exposed to various platforms for watching TV. Besides, they are highly possible to resort to time-shifted and on-demand sources of TV.
In “Decoding the Default,” researchers found out that the average consumer possesses five varied sources to select from for watching TV: digital video recorder or DVR, linear TV, Hulu, Netflix, and video-on-demand, among others. This statistics shows an increment from four in 2014.
Millennials are discovered to have five different sources. Furthermore, half of 18 to 34-year-olds are registered subscribers of two or more of the three mainstream subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service providers.
Peter Fondulas, a Hub executive, pointed out that they have observed a regular pattern of live TV consumption dropping steadily for the past five years.
Yet, what is noticeable is this year marks the first time when a sharp plummet among older viewers occurred. The wide use of live TV is diminishing even with older audiences who have considered this type of viewing as their standard option.
Jon Giegengack, one of the authors of the study and a Hub executive himself, commented about the status of live TV. He said that it still plays an important role like watching sports, news, and mindless channel surfing.
However, Giegengack noted that the increasing variety of on-demand shows translates to the decreasing number of viewers patient enough to follow the schedule of their favorite content.
