Conventional wisdom regarding the shift away from traditional TV toward streaming services suggests cord cutters are driving the change. But a new study suggests cable subscribers are ahead of the curve.
Limelight Networks’ new State of Online Video report found that cable subscribers are paying for more video on demand services than cord cutters. About 59% of cable subscribers said they pay for a least one VOD service, and cable subscribers pay for 1.2 services on average, compared to a 0.7 average for cord cutters.
The study also seemingly confirmed some other conventional wisdom. Respondents age 18-35 currently watch more online video than broadcast and young millennials (age 18-25) watch an average of nine hours, 13 minutes of online video weekly compared to six hours, 11 minutes of traditional TV, according to the study.
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In addition to looking at VOD trends, Limelight’s study also looking into consumer attitudes toward livestreaming. The company found that 60% of global consumers said they’d be more likely to watch live sports online if they were guaranteed not to experience viewing delays. Rebuffering was the primary area of contention for viewers, with 66% reporting they will stop watching a video after two rebuffers.
“As consumer adoption of online video has increased, patience for video interruptions is at an all-time low,” said Michael Milligan, Senior Director at Limelight Networks, in a statement. “Missed moments spoil live online viewing experiences, which means that providers must ensure low latency to lure viewers away from traditional TV. Limelight Realtime Streaming solves this problem by enabling organizations to stream live video in less than a second, providing online viewers with the same experience enjoyed by broadcast viewers.”