Study: Streaming Video Third-Most-Popular Online Activity
22 Jul, 2015 By: Erik GruenwedelStreaming video is the third-most-popular online activity after social networking and e-commerce — but ahead of listening to music, instant messaging, gaming and making a phone call, according to new global data from research firm GfK.
Households with at least one member under the age of 49, and whose children (under age 17) are present, are more likely to stream and view over-the-top video on a connected TV.
More than 54% of connected-TV homes with kids view OTT video, compared with the national average of 40%. Child households are also significantly more likely than those without kids to be using a connected TV (14%), Blu-ray player (8%), gaming console (18%) or streaming media device (23%) to watch OTT video.
Among ethnic and racial groups, Hispanics (42%) and whites (40%) are at roughly the national average in their OTT use, while African-Americans (29%) are significantly below. In terms of devices, Hispanics are much more likely than whites to use smart TVs and video game systems for streaming OTT content.
Indeed, 20% of connected households do not pay for traditional pay-TV at all. The phrase “can watch online” now represents 26% of respondents, compared with just 16% a year ago.
“The old stereotype of an OTT viewer hunched over a laptop or tablet is very much out of date,” David Tice, SVP in GfK’s media and entertainment practice, said in a statement.