The Interactive Advertising Bureau released “The Changing TV Experience: 2017,” which reports most U.S. adults surveyed (56 percent) own a streaming enabled TV. For the purposes of the study, a “streaming enabled TV” is defined as a television that can access internet-based video content, either by itself (smart TV) or through a connection to a video streaming device like Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire Stick, etc.
The research also notes that almost all Americans (92 percent) own some form of a TV set. However, today the majority of time spent (54 percent) watching TV is dedicated to something other than traditional linear programming (46 percent). The largest share of that non-linear time is spent streaming digital video (20 percent), which can include network TV shows, subscription service original shows, or original digital video content. The remaining viewing time is devoted to watching programming via DVR recording (15 percent), VOD (6 percent), and downloaded video (5 percent), in addition to another 8 percent that is uncategorized., according to the study.
Among the 56 percent of U.S. adults who own streaming enabled TVs, watching digital video on them became an entrenched habit in 2017, IAB suggests, with nearly half (46 percent) saying they do so daily. This is a significant increase from the 32 percent reported in IAB’s 2015 data (and the highest daily usage among all digital screens over this same time).
Half of streaming enabled TV owners who responded say they prefer watching commercials to having to pay for ad-free subscriptions when streaming video on TV, up 14 percent over 2015. Additionally, 44 percent said commercials during digital video are less intrusive than those during traditional linear programming (a 16 percent increase over 2015), and that the commercials themselves simply offer a “better” experience (at 34 percent, an uptick of 48 percent over 2015).
IAB partnered with MARU Matchbox on the research based on online survey conducted in March among MARU/Matchbox’s Springboard America online panel. There were 802 respondents who were 18+ years old and in live in the United States.
