Parks Associates: Nearly 60% of U.S. Broadband Households Use OTT Video Services, but "Account Sharing" Is Prevalent

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - May 15, 2015) - Digital media consumer research from Parks Associates reports 57% of U.S. broadband households access an OTT video subscription, but account sharing is a lingering challenge. According to a 3Q 2014 survey of U.S. broadband households, 8% are using a subscription OTT video account held by someone outside of their home, and 6% are exclusively using shared accounts to access subscription OTT video content. This finding equates to 11% of all households that are relying exclusively on shared accounts when using subscription OTT services. 

The firm will discuss the growing consumer demand for OTT content and strategies to increase service revenues at CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference, May 19-21 in San Francisco. During the three-day executive conference, industry leaders such as Roku, Verizon, Sharp, and Time Warner Cable will participate in panel discussions examining trends in video spending and consumption by source and cord-cutting vs. cord-shaving behaviors.

"OTT video accounts for a disproportionate amount of content consumed when compared to expenditure -- over one-third of video consumed per week is OTT, but it is only 9% of the household video budget," said Brett Sappington, Director of Research, Parks Associates. "Account sharing is part of the larger problem in monetizing the strong consumer demand for OTT content. At CONNECTIONS™, we will discuss security of content services as well as the unique shifts in OTT consumption and revenues."

The research Segmentation: Sources and Spending shows 11% of Netflix subscribers, 10% of Hulu Plus subscribers, and 5% of Amazon Prime Instant Video subscribers are using an account paid for by someone else. Account sharing is highest among younger households, where 22% of those 18-24 who use an OTT service use a subscription paid by someone outside of their household. This OTT account-sharing research includes OTT services that are independent of pay-TV services.

"In terms of hours of consumption per dollar spent, consumers have every reason to shift spending to online video. While the all-you-can-eat subscription model is very popular, several OTT services are experimenting with models that blend advertising, subscription, and transactional options," Sappington said. "Pay-TV providers will have to quickly move up the OTT learning curve, which is very different from the traditional pay-TV environment."

CONNECTIONS™ registration is open, and media are invited to secure a press pass. For more information about CONNECTIONS™, visit www.connectionsus.com. Follow the conference on Twitter at @CONNECTIONS_US, #CONNUS15, and on the CONNECTIONS™ Industry Insights Blog. To schedule a meeting with an analyst or speaker, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.

About CONNECTIONS™
The 19th-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference will take place May 19-21 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in San Francisco. CONNECTIONS™ hosts over 400 executives in the connected entertainment, IoT, and smart home industries in an intimate networking environment.

The event provides networking opportunities and insights from industry players on entertainment, mobile, and smart home market segments. Parks Associates research analysts moderate each session, which feature consumer research on adoption and trends, forecasts of new products and services, evaluation of new business strategies, and concrete recommendations about technology innovations, strategic partnerships, monetization opportunities, and value-added services. Throughout the three-day event, sponsors offer tabletop demos during networking events, spotlighting new technology innovations and services.

For more information, contact sales@parksassociates.com, call 972-490-1113, or visit www.connectionsconference.com.