Subscription Based Video On Demand Users: The New Media Pioneers

“SVOD” is the relatively new term when it comes to media. It means “subscription-based video on-demand.” As a recent Nielsen Report says, “Over 40% of U.S. homes had access to an SVOD service as of November 2014, and 13% of homes boasted multiple streaming services. Homes with subscription streaming services have both a penchant for TV-connected technology and, perhaps more importantly, display the greatest usage of these devices—nearly 50 minutes more than a typical TV home.”

If you subscribe to services like Netflix, iTunes, and others, then you’re an SVOD home, and SVOD homes are now being included in audience ratings for programming. Here’s a few characteristics of SVOD homes:

95% of these homes have an HD display. (Compared to 88% of non-SVOD homes.)
24% have enabled a Smart TV. (Compared to 14% of non-SVOD homes.)
58% have a DVR. (Compared to 49% of non-SVOD homes.)
65% have a video game console. (Compared to 46% of non-SVOD homes.)

All this means that SVOD homes are becoming the cutting edge media users.  Therefore it’s not really an argument for cable versus broadcast anymore, it’s really an argument about subscribers of digital content services versus everyone else. They’re the leading media users and the ones who will (for the time being) define the future.