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

Is Roku a Better Streaming Play Than Netflix?

Roku is still the streaming-device leader, controlling an estimated 39% share of the market, according to Parks Associates. Amazon.com's Fire TV is the current runner-up, with about 30%. Roku augment...

DirecTV Wants To Be The Online Substitute For Cable

But analysts estimate that Sling has racked up fewer than 1 million subscribers since it launched in February 2015. Vue’s numbers are harder to get a handle on, but it’s not on the list of top 10 most...

Consumers' Dependence on Broadband Gives Comcast a Streaming Opportunity

However, that's not the most noteworthy detail of the Parks Associates report for Charter and Comcast shareholders. Curiously, only about one-fifth of those internet users questioned subscribe to a st...

Netflix Is Killing It—Big Time—After Pouring Cash Into Original Shows

“There seemed to be an attitude around the industry that after House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, there was no way Netflix could catch lightning in a bottle again,” says Glenn Hower, a senior...