44% of People Have Signed Up for a Free Streaming Service Because of COVID-19


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Family watching TV

Family watching TVIn information that shouldn’t be a surprise, quarantines across the nation have streaming usage on the rise – by as much as 85% according to Nielsen. And in a very crowded streaming landscape, there’s no shortage of options for people to try out. 

But which services are people turning to? Research firm Integral Ad Science adds a little insight in their second Streaming Wars survey, which was released this week. 

According to that survey, 85% of people currently subscribe to at least one paid streaming service, with Netflix holding the number one spot overall. 20% of respondents said they’ve recently signed up for a new paid streaming service, specifically due to the effects of COVID-19. 

Over double that number though, 44% said they’ve added a new free service due to the recent pandemic.  Pluto TV, for example, has seen massive growth with CEO Tom Ryan saying his company saw “double-digit percentage increase week over week in total viewing hours.” 

The survey also showed that older consumers were less likely to try new, free services, with those in the 18 to 29 and 30 to 44 age brackets most likely to sign up. 47% of people said they would likely sign up for a new free service within the next few months.

Also revealed in the study was the fact that a standard television is still the most popular medium for streaming consumption, with 63% of people selecting it as their favorite way to watch (up from just under 60% in the previous IAS Streaming Wars survey). Surprisingly, the biggest increase in those who chose the TV over mobile was in the 18 to 29 age bracket. 

This survey was conducted in March of 2020 with just over 1,000 participants.

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