Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Pay TV Meets OTT: 1 in 5 Get Streaming Service Through Pay TV

It's the embodiment of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em": Researcher Parks Associates released data today showing that 21 percent of pay TV subscribers in the U.S. also subscribe to a streaming service through their pay TV provider. If that doesn't sound like many, consider that only 10 percent did so one year ago. This shows cable and satellite companies see the inevitability of over-the-top services, and have decided it makes more sense to add streaming services to their platforms rather than fighting them. Consumers appreciate unified billing, so this move is a win for subscribers, as well, who can pay one monthly bill for multiple services.

Not that all the news is good for pay TV, however: Parks revealed that 77 percent of U.S. households now have a pay TV subscription, down from 86 percent in 2015. There's a feeling in the industry that this number is close to reaching its bottom, so perhaps a plateau is coming.

While some households get their OTT services from a pay TV provider, the reverse is also true: Parks says almost 18 percent of homes with a cable channels get them through an online video service, such as Sling TV, DirecTV Now, or Hulu With Live TV.

From the article "Pay TV Meets OTT: 1 in 5 Get Streaming Service Through Pay TV" by Troy Dreier.

Previously In The News

Smarter: 9 Ways to Speed Up Google Chrome

Too many subscription services, however, can really add up in terms of monthly expenses. Fifty percent of American households have four or more streaming subscriptions, according to the market researc...

Video Entertainment Spending Drops in the US

According to the research firm, there has also been a decline in multiplatform usage among households, as use rates on individual screens declined despite the fact that overall video viewing has held...

Is DirecTV Now Still a Good Deal for Consumers?

That means no “Storage Wars, no “The Walking Dead,” no “Property Brothers,” and no “The Daily Show.” It's not unusual for services to reconfigure their plans after they launch, says Brett Sappingto...

HDTV Antenna Review: Top Picks From CR's Latest Tests

Market research firm Parks Associates says that one-fifth of U.S. homes with broadband access now use an antenna to get live TV. “Digital antennas are experiencing a resurgence as consumers consider o...