Reports

The key findings in the sixth wave of “Battle Royale”, once again, changed very little from previous waves:

• The average household is using 13 different sources of entertainment
  • Only about half are video
• Only half of those overall sources are “Must Haves”

However, for the first time, users of YouTube platforms (YouTube Premium, YouTube, YouTube TV and YouTube Music) pushed these sources into 4 of the top 5 spots for “Must Have” sources, with the top spot still maintained by Spotify.

This wave of “Battle Royale” will continue to trend key findings from the previous waves.  Revisions are  minimal, addressing any relevant industry changes as well as adding iHeartRadio and other radio sources (like local stations) to the music source options. 

The challenge viewers face in finding good shows to watch across the crowded and fragmented TV landscape has only deepened over the years, as viewers juggle myriad sources (traditional MVPD vs. streaming), devices and content types. Hub’s Conquering Content study has explored this topic for nearly 10 years, illuminating how viewers discover, prioritize and watch TV and movie content across platforms.

In considering the value of a service, consumers prioritize specific TV and movie content that make services worth keeping.  Specifically: high-profile, exclusive, and original content has a major impact on subscription decisions.  The exclusivity of that content has diminished recently as studios have cut back on production, seeking cost savings and additional revenue by licensing shows to competitive services.  This study will continue to measure how perceptions around originals and exclusivity impact subscriber loyalty.

In addition to the importance of content and discovery, Conquering Content will also explore the impact that popular free ad-supported services (FASTs) are having on content discovery, and the potential impact of new bundles that are aggregating content in ways that aim to better connect viewers with favorite shows across services.

The evolution of videogames has continued to broaden the category across ages, platforms and devices.  No longer the realm of young men, game behavior includes all ages of consumers embracing traditional console games and remakes (e.g. Red Dead Redemption, The Last of Us, Resident Evil), as well as games that leverage traditional movie and TV IP (e.g. Marvel’s Spider-Man, Netflix games) and casual mobile gaming.  Among Gen Z consumers, nearly a quarter of their entertainment screen time is spent gaming, where robust social communities exist alongside gameplay.

Disney’s recent $1.5B investment in Epic Games (the studio behind Fortnite) clearly shows how brands and franchises continue to broaden across entertainment universes, as IP more freely moves across movies, TV and games (e.g. Amazon’s Fallout, Netflix’s Grand Theft Auto). Gaming content is increasingly being used to enhance consumer engagement and loyalty to subscription services, by bundling game content with other devices (e.g. connected TVs) and platforms (e.g. Xbox Game Pass on Fios +Play). As studios and advertisers seek to capture the attention of gamers, how is game behavior continuing to evolve for consumers navigating more media choices than ever?

2024’s Gaming 360 study will continue to explore the devices and platforms gaining, or losing share as well as the role gaming plays in consumer leisure time. It will explore both opportunities and challenges that media companies currently face, as well as clarify how key metrics have shifted since Hub’s first Gaming 360 report in 2019.

Hub’s annual Decoding the Default study will continue to track the default services, content and devices that viewers turn to first when they’re ready to watch TV content.

As consumers lean more into streaming services, how are they continuing to navigate traditional sources like cable TV or over-the-air channels?  More importantly, how are viewers choosing new default choices across myriad streaming services?  As we’ve seen in prior years, viewer’s default choice is frequently the one they engage with the most and have the strongest loyalty.

Coming out of the Hollywood strikes, a deficit of new programming has added pressure to services seeking to differentiate themselves from one another. While consumers still embrace selected paid SVODs, many viewers are also taking advantage of cheaper ad-tiers and free ad-supported (FAST) services.  And with new bundling tactics and sports content migrating online, is the “default” service that people turn to changing?

This year’s wave of Decoding the Default will continue to bring clarity to how TV consumers prioritize the ever-growing number of TV sources at their disposal.

The media industry is experiencing a new age of disruption.

Consumer behavior is becoming much more unpredictable due to the introduction of streamers, user-generated content, and many other media to consume content.

However, it is a common belief that there is one genre of content that continues to drive passion and demand: sports.

What’s the Score? Is Hub’s new exploration of how fans and consumers value sports – including sports-adjacent content.  Live games are typically the main appeal, but what are the interest levels across alternative broadcasts (such as ESPN’s “Manningcast”), sports betting, podcasts, etc.?

More specifically, What’s the Score? aims to understand sports fandom vis-a-vis consumption platforms.  How ‘sticky’ is exclusive content on a platform for subscribers’ or viewers’ retention or acquisition?  Does it differ by major US sports?  Does fragmentation impact the overall fan experience? How are viewers reacting to sports bundles? Is bundling alleviating frustration with fragmentation?

As rights continue to shift across broadcast, pay TV, streaming, and direct-to-consumer, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the value of sports content for all stakeholders.

Hub’s research will provide anyone who creates, distributes, and advertises on sports content with a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how much sports matter to your audience, and why.

Smart TVs are now the dominant device for viewing TV and streaming content in people’s homes, with continued growth in 2024 driven by attractive viewing features and declining prices.   Streaming media players still have a strong presence in living rooms, but the ease of “all-in-one” Smart TVs positions them to gain dominance, especially with the strength of improved operating systems (OS) built into those TV sets that shape viewing behavior around what and how people are watching.  How much do TV operating systems (OS) influence consumer behavior?  How are viewers navigating search and discovery of titles using the manufacturer’s TV OS vs. other apps that match viewers with favorite content? User experiences within these distinct environments have especially big implications for advertising exposure and first party data collection that drive consumer behavior.

Since 2019, this study has covered the current and emerging capabilities of TV sets, how they are used by viewers, and consumer attitudes towards “TV” in general. With data for many questions going back six years, we can analyze long-term trends to provide additional insight into many topics. The report will provide guidance to all stakeholders in the “TV value chain” (device manufacturers, content producers, content distributors, and advertising sellers and buyers) to help improve TV-related business outcomes.

In recent years, the one constant in the ad-supported TV landscape has been change.  As more streamers adopt a tiered pay model, as FASTs strengthen their foothold, and as viewing with ads increasingly becomes the default, tracking and understanding the shifts in viewer sentiments remains vitally important.

As the ecosystem evolves, our TV Advertising: Facts vs. Fiction study evolves with it.  We’ve shown viewers remain open to and increasingly tolerant of advertising, especially in the right context and content. We’ve tracked growing awareness of and preference for a tiered ad model, and the relatively small impact ads have on overall user satisfaction and loyalty.  And, we’ve demonstrated that when ad loads meet what viewers feel is reasonable, the results are good for advertisers and platforms alike.

In this seventh wave of TV Advertising – Fact vs. Fiction, we will continue to track use, viewing behaviors, and perceptions of ad-supported TV.  We’ll explore the relationship between advertising and content, and how both impact platform choice:

• How has tolerance for advertising in content shifted over time?
• How have the newest entrants to the ad-supported field been received by consumers?
• What does the average viewer know about tiered service offerings, and how do their perceptions vary by brand?
• What impact do advertising and tiered pricing have on platform satisfaction and loyalty?
• What factors motivate viewers to switch between ad-supported and ad-free tiers, and what holds them back?
• How do aspects of the content and viewing experience (genre, daypart, etc.) impact perception and tolerance of advertising?

In the end, the goal of the study is to help TV service and content providers offer an ad experience that will enhance viewer satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty.

As viewers navigate dozens of shows across myriad services, the abundance of choice continues to overload consumers. What streamer is that hot new show on?  How to watch that important playoff game? Beyond traditional MVPD services and the dominant Netflix, multiple streaming services are vying for consumer attention, claiming to offer a broad mix of “must-have” programs that will benefit any household.  It’s no surprise that some consumers today may admit that they miss the old days of cable, where, despite the challenges, at least everything you wanted was in one place.

Pressure is higher than ever for consumers to figure out what’s worth paying for (or not). Streaming services have expanded with both ad-supported and ad-free tiers, password crackdowns are reminding users that sharing accounts is no longer tolerated, and new free streaming services with ads (like Tubi, Pluto) provide even more options for users looking to save a buck.

Hub’s Monetizing Video study tracks how consumers have been navigating paid TV services since 2018. The study explores which services and features offer the best value, as well as the current amount consumers pay for TV services compared to what they consider to be a “reasonable” or “maximum” amount.

Findings from this study will inform companies about what makes one provider or service have greater perceived value to consumers than others.

2024’s increasingly fragmented streaming landscape requires consumers to make complicated choices in identifying which services and sources best deliver their viewing needs.  Streaming competition in 2023 saw notable price increases and the promotion of new ad tiers across major streamers.  Charter and Disney redefined bundles by more deeply integrating streaming services into their broadband packages, with other distributors following suit. FAST services like Pluto and Tubi saw notable growth. Netflix delivered on its promise to crack down on password sharing, resulting in significant subscriber gains. Recent sports streaming content deals (via Amazon, Youtube, Peacock and others) are delivering sporting events in more exclusive ways to help drive subscriber growth.

Hub’s annual Best Bundle study will continue to explore how TV consumers are adjusting to this ever-evolving TV/streaming space. How are consumers discovering the bundle of services to find the combination that best meets their viewing needs? The study will identify the most common configurations of platforms: in particular, the extent to which consumers are still bundling linear vs streaming services, ad-free vs. ad-supported and FAST (free ad supported streaming) services. We’ll also explore consumers’ perceptions of newer ad tiers and industry efforts to reign in account sharing.

The key findings in the fifth wave of “Battle Royale” continued to remain remarkably consistent with previous waves – the average household is using almost 13 different sources of entertainment, with only about half being video, and only half of those overall sources are “Must Haves”.  Additionally, a new finding, is that the average household uses one “bundled source” for entertainment, from amongst Amazon Prime, Apple One and the Disney Bundle.

This wave of “Battle Royale” will continue to trend key findings from the previous waves.  We are addressing industry changes like the introduction of Prime Video’s ad-supported option.

Hub’s TV Churn Tracker fields continuously, keeping a pulse on macro trends and changes in the TV service ecosystem – including A/SVODs, MVPDs, vMVPDs, FASTs, and OTA.

In this quarterly report, we track how usage, adoption, and cancellation evolve, and capture the attitudinal drivers of sign-up and churn.

Using self-reported survey data, we aim to provide insight on how usage and perceptions trend over time and across platforms; the data in this report is not intended as a fixed representation of penetration and usage statistics.

The convergence of media and technology gets blurrier every year, as consumers dive deeper into technologies that give them 24/7 access to the digital content they know and love. Always-on internet access has networked together myriad devices – phones, smart TVs, smart speakers, kitchen gadgets, smart security systems, exercise equipment – that fill people’s days to make them more convenient, entertained and informed.  Artificial intelligence is making these devices even more powerful and relied upon for everyday tasks, improving algorithms and data streams that help improve what consumers purchase and match them with the content they love.

Media delivery and data collection never takes a break, whether consumers are watching a TV at night, using a smartphone during their commute, listening to a smart speaker while making lunch, or recording their exercise on a smart watch before breakfast. Understanding what consumers own and use is more important than ever for the ever-increasing list of stakeholders in the media world.

2024 marks the fifth year of Hub’s Entertainment+Tech tracking study. As in previous years, the Connected Homereport will provide a broad look at entertainment and smart home technology in US households, as well as their intentions to purchase new media tech (e.g. Apple’s Pro Vision headset) and how they approach those purchases. With historical trends going back to 2019, our data reveals what devices are trending hot – or cold – in today’s media technology environment.

This study will continue to provide media producers & distributors and device manufacturers insights to help them make better informed strategy and investment decisions.

OVERVIEW: Since 2019, Hub’s Evolution of Video Branding study has tracked awareness and perceptions of brands across the TV ecosystem.

As media companies enter 2024 and fill out their programming schedules, consumers are navigating an increasingly fragmented landscape of multiple streaming services and viewing sources.  Production pipelines have been stalled by the Hollywood strikes, which will significantly impact when people see new shows.  The recent trend of studios licensing content outside of their own streaming services to other streamers and FAST channels is providing even more choices and challenges for viewers seeking out favorite programs.

The most important goal of providers will continue to be around driving awareness, interest and differentiation in their services.  With so many places to watch, providers must continue to focus on how their brands stand out from their rivals: exclusive content, library content, stacking series based on IP or creators, bundling with their other lines of business, or offering multiple subscription tiers.

In 2024, the Evolution of Video Branding study will continue to track not just awareness of streaming services, but also which service or brand attributes have had the strongest impact on consumers’ perceptions. Where available, trends with the previous four waves of the report will be shown.

The media industry is experiencing a new age of disruption.

Consumer behavior is becoming much more unpredictable due to the introduction of streamers, user-generated content, and many other media to consume content.

However, it is a common belief that there is one genre of content that continues to drive passion and demand: sports.

What’s the Score? Is Hub’s inaugural exploration of how fans and consumers value sports – including sports-adjacent content.  Live games are typically the main appeal, but what are the interest levels across alternative broadcasts (such as ESPN’s “Manningcast”), sports betting, podcasts, etc.?

More specifically, What’s the Score? aims to understand sports fandom vis-a-vis consumption platforms.  How ‘sticky’ is exclusive content on a platform for subscribers’ or viewers’ retention or acquisition?  Does it differ by major US sports?  Does fragmentation impact the overall fan experience?

As rights continue to shift across broadcast, pay TV, streaming, and direct-to-consumer, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the value of sports content for all stakeholders.

Hub’s research will provide anyone who creates, distributes, and advertises on sports content with a deeper, more nuanced understanding of how much sports matter to your audience, and why.

Our annual  Video Redefined study steps back from our usual focus on the delivery and viewership of traditional TV and streaming services on TV sets in order to explore new ways of viewing – tracking use of the newer types of video content and ways of video consumption now at consumers’ disposal.

This study tracks the growing popularity of content categories like YouTube influencers, TikTok, and podcasts. We look at how consumption of non-TV-screen content varies by consumer segment, the most common use-cases, and consumers’ reaction to advertising on non-TV-screen video platforms. And of course, one of the main goals of the study is to measure the impact that consumption of this content is having on traditional TV viewing.

This study helps our TV industry and advertising clients better understand the competitive challenges posed by “off-TV-screen” content and how those challenges are evolving, the opportunities being created by these alternative viewing options, and what strategies may be effective for their businesses.

In 2022, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau and Nielsen, 82% of Americans ages 12 and older listened to terrestrial radio in a given week. And according to Edison Research’s “The Infinite Dial” report, in 2023 42% of Americans 12+ have listened to a podcast in the past month. “Audio” – whether terrestrial or satellite radio, or streaming music, or podcasts – remains a substantial portion of the media mix for Americans, yet it often is overshadowed by research on TV and streaming video. And with the proliferation of Bluetooth-enabled TV sets and TV devices, or viewing on mobile devices with that capability, listening to TV audio is increasingly through headphones and earbuds, impacting TV viewing habits long taken for granted by the industry.

In this new report, Hub explores how people interact with audio (the devices they use to listen), their listening content (what services they are using for audio), and how people listen to TV with alternative audio devices. We also will explore how audio content like podcasts can be used to increase sampling and engagement with programs on traditional TV and streaming services, or as source material for video programming.

And as always, this report from the Entertainment & Technology Tracker will include quarterly tracking questions on a multitude of home media technologies.

As more and more streaming services adopt an ad-supported model, the importance of understanding advertising’s role in the TV ecosystem – and in viewer’s subscription and viewing decisions – has never been more important.  While Netflix, Disney+, and Max work to draw subs to their new ad tiers, Amazon and AMC+ recently announced their push to ad commercials to their streams.  Soon there may be few truly ad-free streamers left – if any.

Our TV Advertising: Facts vs. Fiction study has consistently shown viewers are open to and tolerant of advertising – especially when ad loads are reasonable, when users’ bills are lower, and when they have the option to choose a premium ad-free options if they so desire.  Time and again we see consumers choosing content first – whether or not they can watch it ad-free.

In this sixth wave of TV Advertising – Fact vs. Fiction, we will continue to track use, viewing behaviors, and perceptions of ad-supported TV.  We’ll explore the interplay between advertising, cost, and content, and how they inform platform choice:

• What advertising formats and features offer the best experiences in the minds of consumers?
• How does advertising impact satisfaction and overall perceptions?
• What informs ‘value’ beyond cost?
• What is the role of content when choosing between ad-supported and ad-free platforms?
• What impact does tiered service have on platform choice, retention, and subscriber growth?
• How do ads fit into the consideration set of habitual service churners?
• For services that have announced new ad-supported tiers – what has the average subscriber heard? What proportion intend to opt-in?

In the end, the goal of the study is to help TV service and content providers offer an ad experience that will maximize viewer satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty.