Horowitz: Streaming Is the Norm for Millennials

NEW ROCHELLE: Millennials stream more than half of their TV content and are more likely to choose Netflix over live viewing, according to a new report from Horowitz Research.

The study, titled State of Cable & Digital Media 2016, found that 18- to 34-year-old TV viewers report spending 54 percent of their viewing time streaming and just 25 percent watching content live. Across total TV-content viewers over 18, the figures are flipped: 50 percent of the viewing is done live while 29 percent is streamed.

The Horowitz study also found that since 2012, the weekly share of streamed viewing has increased from 15 percent in 2012 to 54 percent in 2016. On the other hand, traditional viewing has plummeted from 75 percent to 39 percent among Millennials. Additionally, the study revealed that Millennials are more likely to turn to Netflix when they want to watch TV: 36 percent say the streaming service is their first “go-to” source for TV content and 29 percent say they go to live TV.

Although streaming has increased substantially over the past few years, traditional television continues to have value. Three-quarters (76 percent) of Millennials use a combination of traditional and streamed content, with just 13 percent using streaming exclusively.

Stephanie Wong, Horowitz’s director of marketing and strategy, said: “It’s an exciting time to be in the video industry. Established MVPDs like Comcast and new players like Layer3 alike are seeking to improve the value proposition of pay TV and reinvent the traditional TV experience with features like voice control, social media integration, and a more seamless cross-platform viewing experience. Whether these features will be enough to keep Millennials with traditional distributors is the next big question.”