A New Survey Finds Original Content Investment Paying off for Netflix and Amazon Video

New Survey Finds Original Content Investment Paying off for Netflix and Amazon Video

Great news for the exploding SVOD arena – a greater number of consumers are paying for multiple OTT products. According to a new research by 451 Research, 19% of streaming subscribers are paying for three or more services – up 4 points over the previous year. These streaming enthusiasts are creating their own bundles of video services, starting with Netflix (95%) and Amazon Video (82%) then adding a combination of subscription and a-la-carte platforms including Hulu, HBO Now and iTunes.

The firm’s latest Voice of the Connected User Landscape study, based on a survey of 1,270 people in North America, said that increased adoption speaks to the rise of consumer self-bundling, led by Netflix and Amazon Video, with additions of services like Hulu and HBO Now.

Among all respondents who pay for a streaming service, 79% say they subscribe to Netflix and 53% to Amazon Video and continues to be the growth story, up 5 points over the past year.

Access to movies (50%) remains the top reason why consumers pay for streaming video services; viewing complete seasons of TV shows (45%) is a close second and has increased 6 points in just six months.
Importantly, 33% of streaming subscribers chose their service for its original content, up 8 points year over year. Original content has always been a major differentiator forHBO Now and Showtime, but the VoCUL survey highlights a growing importance of original content among Netflix users (36%; up 9 points over a year) and Amazon Video users (36%; up 14 points over a year).

While both Netflix and Amazon Video users in the VoCUL survey have shifted towards watching more original content over the past two years, there is an even faster increase among Amazon Video users (from 7% to 31%) who say original content is their most watched type of video content, compared to Netflix users (from 20 to 32%).

“Netflix and Amazon Video have spent billions creating exclusive original content to differentiate themselves within a competitive streaming TV market, and our latest surveys show that it’s resonating with customers. Viewing original content has become a much more important factor over the past year in choosing streaming services, and the data shows consumers are simply watching more of it.” said Andy Golub, managing director of 451 Research’s Voice of the Connected User Landscape end-user surveys and research.

The study found that 41% of those who own an OTT device have a Roku streaming player or streaming stick, followed by an Apple TV device (35%), a Google Chromecast adapter (26%), Amazon Fire TV Stick (13%) or an Amazon Fire TV box (10%).

Access the complete report here