Netflix has gone from smart idea to pioneer to cultural arbiter in a shockingly short span of time. But some have wondered just how big Netflix’s reach really is. A new study shows that it’s not only huge, but that other streaming services, and cable companies, in particular, have serious problems on their hands.
The self-reported study, run by Wall Street firm Cowan & Co. and reported on by Variety, is pretty bad for everybody but Netflix just in aggregate: 27% of the 2,500 adults surveyed watch Netflix as their primary source of TV, basic cable at 20%, broadcast at 18%, and YouTube at 11%. But then you get into the demographic that cable and broadcast nets most need to watch ads, 18-34, and that’s where it gets ugly:
Nearly 40% of those in the younger demo said Netflix is the platform they use most often to view video content on their TVs — well ahead of YouTube (17%), basic cable (12.6%), Hulu (7.6%) and broadcast TV (7.5%).
The sole good news for cable companies is that people who pay for cable tend to watch it more than they do Netflix, albeit only by a two-point margin. But considering that quite a few viewers in the demo are “cord-nevers,” that is, they’ve never bothered to buy cable, that’s cold comfort.
Of course, habits could change, especially as the streaming wars run hotter and companies from Apple to Disney spend an enormous amount of money to try and horn in on Netflix’s action. However, the problem is simple: Cable wants to sell you TV in bulk for $100 a month and chain you to a box. Netflix wants to sell it to you for $12 a month and doesn’t care where you watch it. The math, for many consumers, simply doesn’t line up, and both cable and the networks it relies on are going to need to figure out a way to fight Netflix on price if they don’t want to fall further behind.
(via Variety)
