While OTT is reaching a tipping point and pay TV numbers are going down, there are distinct cultural drivers for people ditching pay-TV in their droves.
We have documented the growth and evolution of online streaming for some time - and now it looks like we may be reaching a tipping point in which online viewing is starting to surpass pay-TV - but this trend does differ between regions.
In fact, a study from Ofcom has discovered that the average daily broadcast viewing on a television set dropped by nine minutes last year in the UK alone.
In the UK, SVoD subscriptions climbed to 15.4 million in Q1 of 2018, in comparison to pay-TV's 15.1 million.
This chart offers a visualization of SVoD growth in the UK over a four-year period:
As you can see, the growth in UK SVoD subscribers has been exponential. And in the UK, there seem to be the key reasons for this rise in online viewership:
Now let’s venture across the pond.
A new study suggests that five million Americans will jettison pay-TV this year - this equates to a rather sizable 685% increase from 2016.
Again, these findings show us that in the US, more and more consumers are beginning to favor the freedom, autonomy, and flexibility of SVoD over traditional pay-TV, but what are the reasons? Here are some of the main drivers for this mass migration:
These reasons mainly apply to most of the APAC and the rest of developing markets.
It seems that while both of these notable viewing regions are reaching a tipping point, there are distinct cultural drivers for people ditching pay-TV in their droves. While in the UK, the shift away from pay-TV is centered on a lust for tech-innovation and a desire for fresh, original programming, in an addition to the desire to consume content on an ever-growing range of mediums, in the US, it’s far more focused on value.
In America, the pay-TV providers are perceived to offer little value for money and many providers are driving up their subscription prices rapidly, causing consumers to move into the realms of SVoD - it’s a real ‘cut your nose off to spite your face’ situation.
Now, whatever the regional motivations for this international tipping point may be, the fact is: SVoD is on the up and for providers with an innovative, forward-thinking attitude, there is absolutely everything to play for - and that’s a wonderful thing indeed.
