North Americans spent less on video entertainment last year and used fewer services, TiVo says, with consumers on average allocating $19.37 per month less to video in the fourth quarter versus the same three-month period of 2023.
The average spend of $157.47 from October - December represents a 17% decline ($31.91) from the peak period of Q4 2022, when TiVo found that U.S. and Canadian consumers were shelling out an average of $189.39 a month on video entertainment.
For its Q4 2024 TiVo Video Trends Report, TiVo, a subsidiary of technology company Xperi, surveyed 4,490 adults in the U.S. and Canada. (You can access the report here.)
Video-consumption-wise, everything in TiVo’s latest polling seems to be, well, down, starting with subscription streaming usage.
According to the report, 85.8% of respondents in Q4 of last year reported use of an SVOD service, compared to 88% in Q4 2023. Notably, the margin between the percentage of those saying they added a service within the last six months versus those who report cancelling at least one or more SVODs was more narrow than it has been in TiVo Q4 surveys dating back to 2021.
TiVo found that consumers across income brackets are increasing the frequency in which they review their entertainment spending allocations and make adjustments.
North Americans watched slightly less video per day in Q4 — 4.5 hours versus 4.7 in Q4 2023 — but consumption was largely flat with the 4.5 hours reported in 2021 and the 4.4 hours indicated in TiVo’s comparable 2022 survey. But there has been no recent mass migration of viewership to, say, free ad-supported streaming. In fact, TiVo found AVOD and FAST adoption flat to slightly down in the fourth quarter.
The average number of total services consumers reported using continued to decline in Q4, to 9.9, down from 11.1 in 2023 and a peak of 11.6 in 2024.
And particularly interesting: North American consumers surveyed by TiVo are reporting a steadily eroding value perception for all kinds of streaming, from ad-free and ad-supported SVOD, to virtual MVPDs and AVOD. The only video sector that was not down last year was pay TV, which was flat.
Notably, pay TV was also the only video segment in which users reported increased usage. Respondents said that 29.8% of their daily TV viewing time went to pay TV in the fourth quarter, up from 27.9% in Q4 2023. Share of SVOD time declined to 28.1% from 30% over the same span.
TiVo said the stabilization of pay TV is part of a broader trend in which consumers are seeking bundling and simplicity.
“We are seeing a shift in consumer priorities as they look for ways to reduce the number of services they use without sacrificing access to quality content,” said Xperi’s chief product and services officer, Geir Skaaden, in a statement.
Skaaden believes the likely stagflation - stemming from recent trade policies enacted by President Donald Trump - could actually have the effect of reverting consumers back to the high levels of home entertainment consumption and curbed spending in other areas that occurred during the pandemic.
“As consumers face economic uncertainty there will be increased pressure on the entertainment industry to deliver quality content and keep users engaged for long periods of time,” Skaaden said. “There is a chance we will see a similar spend and entertainment consumption trend from that which we experienced during the pandemic, with consumers searching for cost saving measures and spending more time at home, increasing the value in which consumers place on entertainment. This new balancing act is and will continue to put more pressure on the entertainment ecosystem to deliver value with relevant and timely content.”
A couple of other interesting nuggets from the TiVo report:
- TiVo didn’t include any previous data to contextualize this claim, but it said that loyalty to TVOS device platforms is increasing, with 31.8% of respondents indicating they’d only buy a smart TV if it has a specific operating system running it. This is compared to just 15.4% of respondents who said they could care less if a TV is powered by Roku, Fire TV, Google TV … or TiVo.
- Usage of companion apps to find something to watch increased from 28.1% in Q4 2023 to 32.1%, with streaming consumers expanding their tool sets beyond IMDB to services including Letterboxd, Reelgood and JustWatch.