MediaPost Publications

As consumers decide what they want out of their Over-the-Top (OTT) video experience, the industry is seeing some fairly high churn rates. While typical for subscription-based industries, some companies are managing better than others.

According to Parks Associates, 4% of U.S. broadband services have canceled their Netflix service over the past 12 months, representing about 9% of its overall subscriber base. Comparatively, 7% of those households have canceled Hulu Plus, repre ...read more

According to a recent Parks Associates survey, reported by Joseph Palenchar, a total of 57% of U.S. broadband households subscribe to an over-the-top (OTT) video service (streaming of video content over the Internet without the involvement of a multiple-system operator.) And, 7% of broadband households, or 8.4 million, subscribe to at least one OTT video service but not to a pay TV service, the survey found.

The 7% includes consumers who discontinued pay TV service and those ...read more

New digital/over-the-top video consumers want a wide number of choices to consider when it comes to how many devices they can use. But is that enough for OTT platforms to succeed?
Parks Associates says almost one-half of video consumers want to be able to use four or more devices to access over-the-top video content. About 25% say they just need one device, with lessor consumers wanting two devices and/or one device.

But even then there are other considerations. The study ...read more

Parks Associates has produced a new report that says 6% of all broadband-capable households make use of a streaming video service paid for by someone who doesn’t live there, and 20% of streaming video viewers between the ages of 18 to 24 do.

That costs the business $500 million this year alone, and, in case you wondered (though why would you?), the thieves do it to save money.

You want to think people are good, and I’d bet 90% of those 20% would qualify otherwise as good ...read more

Smartwatch users want their devices to work well, particularly with their similarly branded smartphones, but they are beginning to consider their fashion bona fides as well.

According to new research from Parks Associates, more than half (58%) of smartwatch owners made their purchase decisions based on the device’s features and functionality. Next among their deciding factors was brand (49%), followed by the device’s design and fashion appeal (30%).

“Our data shows produ ...read more

In related news, Parks Associates released its new report finding that 1.6 billion people worldwide watch online video on connected devices. That’s more than 20% of the world’s population.

Seems this OTT thing is for real.

From the article "Worldwide Over-The-Top Revenue Balloons" by Daisy Whitney.

New research shows that TV homes with broadband are increasingly signing onto over-the-top TV (OTT) service -- with and without traditional pay TV services.
In the U.S., 57% of current traditional pay TV providers have an OTT video service, while 7% (8.4 million U.S. homes) have an OTT service but no pay TV services, according to Parks Associates. This last number includes consumers who have discontinued pay TV service and those who have never subscribed to pay TV.

Globall ...read more

The over-the-top devil is in the details.

While OTT services are rapidly rising in use, so is consumers’ savvy in piggybacking onto their friends’ and family’s OTT subscriptions. More than 57% of all broadband homes use over the-top video subscription services, but the sharing of such services is also on the rise, to the tune of 11% of homes exclusively using a buddy’s account for OTT viewing, said Parks Associates in just-released research.

When it comes to sharing, pic ...read more