Source: S&P Global Media Portal/S&P Global.
The video streaming landscape is flooded with a variety of services and devices for consumers to choose from. On the service side, there are a couple of kings along with a slew of others constantly jockeying for position. Coincidentally, the device side is quite similar. Smartphones are the undisputed top device used for steaming video content, with several other device types bunched together behind them. Most of the widely used streaming devices are multifunctional, leaving dedicated streaming devices, like Roku, perpetually stuck as niche products.
This report represents the findings of a S&P Global Market Intelligence 451 Research survey, which asked US consumers about their streaming services, device ownership and customer satisfaction.
Key takeaways from the survey
More consumers using smartphones to stream content. Many device categories are seeing increased usage compared with last year’s survey, but none as much as smartphones (44%), which is up 7 points compared with last year and remains the most used device for streaming video content. Rounding out the top three are smart TVs (30%) and laptops/desktops (29%). Roku streaming players (24%) are still tops among dedicated streaming devices. Tablets (22%) are also a popular choice, along with the Amazon Fire TV/Stick (17%) and video game consoles (15%). Convenience continues to play a big role in streaming device selection.
Ubiquity of smartphones keeps them on top. One reason that smartphones are consistently one of the most used devices is rooted in the fact that they are already being used for a variety of different tasks and have a higher ownership rate than any other device category. As such, usage for video streaming is similar across lower-income (less than $50,000 per year; 43%) and higher-income (more than $100,000 per year; 46%) households. Cost is also a big factor in device selection, as many households are not able to buy a bunch of single-use gadgets. Across all other top device types, except for Roku, higher-income households use streaming devices at noticeably higher rates than lower-income ones, and this is especially true for the Apple TV.
Apple devices lead in customer satisfaction. As for dedicated streaming devices, the survey found Apple TV’s 7th generation (87%) and Apple TV’s 6th generation (77%) to have the highest percentage of users say they are very satisfied with their devices. Apple TV’s 5th generation (70%) and 4th generation (70%) are more in-line with the ratings of their competitors. The Roku streaming stick (72%) continues to show higher satisfaction than the Roku streaming player (67%), while satisfaction with the Amazon Fire TV Stick (69%) is now nearly even with its Amazon Fire TV (70%) counterpart. Chromecast again brings up the rear, with only 59% of users saying they are very satisfied.
Streaming devices are durable and frequently used. Well over half (58%) of respondents say they use their streaming devices daily, with another 23% saying it is just a few times a week. Despite their usage, on average most respondents have owned their devices for two years or longer. In fact, when asked about upgrading, half (51%) of respondents indicated they typically like to replace their streaming devices after four years or longer. The main exceptions to this are smartphones, which have always had a quicker refresh rate, and Apple TV, newest model of which was released just three years ago.
Uptick in planned buying. Despite the longevity of most streaming devices, the survey did show a year-over-year uptick in planned device buying. Looking at specific device types, the aforementioned smartphones and Apple TV are showing the biggest increase in planned buying interest compared with last year. This is in line with our other findings on smartphone buying patterns and is an indicator of the anticipation surrounding the release of the next generation Apple TV, which is expected within the next few months.
Samsung is most used smart TV. As noted previously, nearly one-third (30%) of respondents use a smart TV to stream video content. Among this group, Samsung (37%) stands well above its closest competitor, LG (19%). Vizio (16%), Roku (12%), TCL (10%) and Sony (10%) are the only other brands to garner double-digit usage. In terms of satisfaction, three-quarters (75%) of respondents say they are very satisfied with their smart TV.
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