Despite performance issues such as live event delays impeding adoption, more online video than ever is being consumed, increasing 58% since 2016, to an average of six hours, 45 minutes each week according to research from Limelight Networks.
The State of Online Video report was based on responses from 5,000 consumers in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States age 18 and older who watch one hour or more of online video content each week.
Yet despite showing a taste for online video, the survey also showed that consumers still spend more time watching traditional broadcast, averaging eight hours, two minutes each week. Moreover, the aforementioned performance issues, continue to turn viewers off, pushing them to rely on traditional broadcast viewing with as many as three-fifths of global consumers noting in the survey that they would be more likely to watch live sports online if they were guaranteed not to experience viewing delays. When it came to online video frustrations, rebuffering is the primary area of contention for viewers, with two-thirds reporting they will stop watching a video after two rebuffers.
Not surprisingly, millennials were leading the global shift to online video. Respondents aged 18-35 were found to currently watch more online video than broadcast. Young millennials (age 18-25) watched an average of nine hours, 13 minutes of online video weekly compared to six hours, 11 minutes of traditional TV. 15 percent of young millennials spend more than 20 hours a week watching online video. Viewers in the Philippines watched the most online video at eight hours, 46 minutes each week, followed closely by India and the United States at nearly eight and a half hours of viewing each week. Germany has the lowest online video viewership rate at five hours, two minutes.
The report also showed that cable subscribers pay for more streaming services than cord-cutters and that nearly three-fifths of worldwide consumers subscribe to at least one video-on-demand (VOD) service. Cable subscribers were found to be supplementing, not replacing, traditional TV with online video, paying for an average of 1.2 streaming services, while non-cable subscribers pay for 0.7 service.
On a note of caution, noted that consumers would cancel their services due to price increases. More than half (55%) of worldwide consumers say price increases would be the primary reason for cancelling an SVOD service. Nearly half (46%) note the same for their cable subscription.
Commenting on the trends revealed in the State of Online Video report, Michael Milligan, senior director at Limelight Networks said: “As consumer adoption of online video has increased, patience for video interruptions is at an all-time low. Missed moments spoil live online viewing experiences, which means that providers must ensure low latency to lure viewers away from traditional TV.
