Over 35s behind VOD subscription growth

Thirty per cent of UK viewers now use a service of this type each month, an increase of 4% in the past six months.

However this growth has come from older age groups, with 35- to 44-year olds (+7%), 45- to 54-year-olds (+15%), and 55+ (+8%) age ranges all increasing their use. In comparison 16- to 24-year-olds dropped 12% over the same period. The report, Mediabug Wave 6, points to Netflix and Amazon Prime both increasing their subscriber bases over this period, with Netflix adding +6% to its paid subscribers and Amazon Prime adding +3%.

Dr. Hamish McPharlin, director of Decipher’s media research said: “We’re seeing a subtle shift in tone when it comes to digital consumption. With over 35’s getting on board it has moved past early adopter behaviour and is gaining mainstream acceptance, and this is driven by SVOD becoming increasingly accessible on the most popular mainstream device: the TV.”

For instance Netflix is now available on Virgin TiVo, and has recently gone onto Youview boxes – about 40% of Youview owners now using their box to stream VOD to their TV’s at least once a month.

In addition Smart TV’s, many of which have apps for both Netflix and Amazon Prime, have continued their strong growth; 29% of broadband-enabled homes now have one, and 89% of them are connected to the internet.

Mediabug is a bi-annual tracker based on an online consumer survey of 3,000 UK consumers.