In the US, traditional cable TV providers are losing customers. Figures for the third quarter of 2015 suggest that they lost 190,000 paying subscribers between July and September. Now researchers at Clearleap suggest that streaming services are more or less on a par with traditional cable TV.
Over 1100 consumers were surveyed by Clearleap about their TV viewing habits. 78% of the respondents subscribed to cable TV; 71% used at least one streaming video service.
Younger respondents (those aged between 18 and 29) were more likely to use streaming video services (70%) than have a cable TV subscription (64%). Overall, viewers are still using streaming services as an 'enhancement' to existing subscriptions.
Netflix was by far the most popular of the services (83%); followed by Amazon (38%); Hulu (22%) and HBO Now (7%). 58% of respondents used a laptop for viewing; 39% used smartphones while 29% were using smart TVs and tablets Other devices being used include Xbox consoles (22%), desktops (22%) and PlayStation consoles (17%).
Streaming service users are generally happier than cable subscribers – almost half of whom said that cost had considered cancelling their cable subscriptions.
Hack Attack!
However, there's no room for complacency as far as streaming providers are concerned. Some people are trying to keep down costs by buying cheap lifetime passes on the dark web. Here you can purchase access to stolen account details. The advice - if you see someone creating additional profiles on your Netflix account, your details have been compromised!
Source: BGR