UK consumers favour streaming services over traditional pay-TV services, with 90% of us now considered as ‘TV streamers’, according to research conducted by the National Research Group on behalf of Roku. In comparison, 70% of us are still using traditional pay-TV services, such as Sky, Virgin Media, and BT.
This embracing of streaming services represents a huge opportunity for advertisers, with half of those surveyed having ad-supported services. And 21% of those on ad-funded services have downgraded their pay-TV services in the last year. There’s also plenty of cross-screen advertising potential, as 80% of ad-funded video-on-demand (AVOD) viewers use another device while streaming.
“The findings highlighted in our ‘The Streaming Decade’ report show that TV in the UK has reached a tipping point, and streaming is becoming the norm for all ages,” said Mirjam Laux, VP International at Roku. “With more and more new and interesting content available to consumers, streaming has become the dominant force for consumers. And where consumers go opportunities follow for brands to engage them with compelling, best-in-class advertising that’s relevant to their interests. Streaming is clearly the future of TV.”
The research also found that more than half of consumers are going to continue watching as much TV as they did during the pandemic lockdowns, while 66% of people choose streaming when they want to watch something that everyone is talking about, as opposed to just 23% who opt for traditional pay-TV.
In addition, only 3% of respondents have plans to cancel a subscription streaming service over the next 12 months. And, in the 57-70-year-old age group, where 77% are now TV streamers, almost two-thirds of people agree that streaming represents better value, is more convenient, and has greater variety than pay-TV.
