Nearly 60% of U.S. broadband households use OTT video services, but “Account Sharing” is prevalent

Friday, May 15, 2015

Industry Leaders Including Roku, Verizon and Sharp to Discuss Streaming Media Strategies at CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference, May 19-21

Digital media consumer research from Parks Associates reports 57% of U.S. broadband households access an OTT video subscription, but account sharing is a lingering challenge. According to a 3Q 2014 survey of U.S. broadband households, 8% are using a subscription OTT video account held by someone outside of their home, and 6% are exclusively using shared accounts to access subscription OTT video content. This finding equates to 11% of all households that are relying exclusively on shared accounts when using subscription OTT services.

The firm will discuss the growing consumer demand for OTT content and strategies to increase service revenues at CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference, May 19-21 in San Francisco. During the three-day executive conference, industry leaders such as Roku, Verizon, Sharp, and Time Warner Cable will participate in panel discussions examining trends in video spending and consumption by source and cord-cutting vs. cord-shaving behaviors.

“OTT video accounts for a disproportionate amount of content consumed when compared to expenditure—over one-third of video consumed per week is OTT, but it is only 9% of the household video budget,” said Brett Sappington, Director of Research, Parks Associates. “Account sharing is part of the larger problem in monetizing the strong consumer demand for OTT content. At CONNECTIONS™, we will discuss security of content services as well as the unique shifts in OTT consumption and revenues.”

The research Segmentation: Sources and Spending shows 11%of Netflix subscribers, 10% of Hulu Plus subscribers, and 5% of Amazon Prime Instant Video subscribers are using an account paid for by someone else. Account sharing is highest among younger households, where 22% of those 18-24 who use an OTT service use a subscription paid by someone outside of their household. This OTT account-sharing research includes OTT services that are independent of pay-TV services.

"In terms of hours of consumption per dollar spent, consumers have every reason to shift spending to online video. While the all-you-can-eat subscription model is very popular, several OTT services are experimenting with models that blend advertising, subscription, and transactional options,” Sappington said. “Pay-TV providers will have to quickly move up the OTT learning curve, which is very different from the traditional pay-TV environment.”

CONNECTIONS™ registration is open, and media are invited to secure a press pass. For more information about CONNECTIONS™, visit www.connectionsus.com. Follow the conference on Twitter at @CONNECTIONS_US, #CONNUS15, and on the CONNECTIONS™ Industry Insights Blog. To schedule a meeting with an analyst or speaker, contact Holly Sprague at [email protected], 720.987.6614.

About CONNECTIONS™

Parks Associates' 27th annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference features an in-person conference on May 23-25, 2023 and multiple virtual sessions hosted throughout 2023. The event focuses on the adoption of technology including smart home, security, connected health, energy, and home automation.

Bringing together more than 1,500 senior executives, CONNECTIONS™ provides networking opportunities combined with visionary keynotes and virtual sessions. The Parks Associates analyst team leads all conference sessions, which are focused on technology innovations, consumer adoption and trends, product and service forecasts, and the evaluation of new business strategies, partnerships, monetization opportunities, and value-added service design.

Throughout the event, sponsors offer demos during networking events, spotlighting new technology innovations and services for the entertainment, mobile, and smart home market segments.

CONNECTIONS™ 2023 features an in-person conference on May 23-25, 2023, with virtual sessions on March 2, July 20, and October 5. For more information, contact [email protected], call 972-490-1113, visit www.connectionsconference.com.

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