With cord cutting on the rise, more people are turning to streaming services to get their entertainment rather than traditional cable. But even die-hard cable subscribers supplement with OTT services. New research from Parks Associates shows 61% of broadband households subscribe to at least two streaming services. That number comes at the end of this year’s Q3, up from 48% this time last year.
According to the report, 45% of homes subscribe to three or more OTT services, and 31% subscribe to at least four. Both numbers are up 27% and 14% from last year respectively.
“The term ‘streaming wars’ has been used for the past several years to describe the battle between high-profile SVOD services to capture revenue and viewership among US video consumers,” Steve Nason, research director, said in a statement. “So far the main battle has been among Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, with other services primarily acting as complements. Now other services from major players are vying to become a core video service in the U.S., which represents the first real threat to the [SVOD] hierarchy.”
“The Big 3,” which consists of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video have seen some of the newer streaming services creeping in on their cornered share of the market. With an ever-growing pool of OTT services, including recent newcomers Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and more, it’s no wonder broadband households are making the move to streaming.
“Clearly, the five main challengers to the Big 3 are having a direct impact on the service stack of OTT consumers,” Nason said. “These services are primarily responsible for building up the OTT video portfolio by filling in important content gaps not currently being delivered by the Big 3 and other services. As these challengers continue to be more fully integrated into the market, their impact on the video consumer service stack will continue to grow.”