SAN FRANCISCO—New data from Samba TV shows that linear TV viewing held steady in the first half of 2023 while streaming continued to see strong growth, with binge viewing continuing to play an important role in building streaming audiences.
Samba TV’s latest State of Viewership report, which analyzed approximately 45 billion hours of linear and streaming during the first half of 2023, found that 96 million U.S. households watched OTT content and that over three quarters (77%) of U.S. adults were streaming content.
The survey also found that almost three quarters (72%) of U.S. adults identify as binge-watchers, and those viewers turned out for the 2023 slate of bingeable shows, with an average of 47% of households watching the whole season of the top bulk-release shows within the first five days.
The report also focused on the new and innovative opportunities for audiences to consume over-the-top (OTT) content via newly-rolled out advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) options from streaming leaders Disney+ and Netflix as well as the growth of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) options.
These platforms, the researchers said, offer advertisers a better way to reach younger and more diverse audiences, over half of which do not watch traditional cable television.
“Ad-supported video presents a major growth opportunity. The data clearly shows that consumers are embracing lower-cost, ad-supported streaming options that leverage advanced targeting to deliver maximum value for advertisers,” said Samba TV CEO and co-founder Ashwin Navin. “As audiences shift to streaming, smart advertisers are optimizing frequency and measuring impact to reach the right consumers efficiently.”
While steaming options continue to multiply, the report also found that most streamers rely on a relatively limited number of services.
Throughout the first half of the year, about half of households watched two or less streaming services, while the majority watched three or less. Despite limitless options of content to watch across platforms, people remain unlikely to watch more than a few services over the course of a six-month period, the researchers reported.
The researchers highlighted these data points as key findings:
- Traditional linear television reach remains steady year-over-year, but streaming viewership continues to rise.
- The average daily reach of linear television increased slightly during the first half of 2023, with about 57 million U.S. households tuning in each day. Despite fluctuations year-over-year, this pace isn’t expected to hold as more and more live sporting events and news programming shifts to streaming, where the majority of younger Americans spend their time.
- Meanwhile, during this same time period, 96 million U.S. households watched OTT content, with over three quarters (77%) of U.S. adults streaming.
- OTT and linear consumption each peaked in January followed by February declines. Linear was boosted by one of its main drivers, live sports. Seven out of the top 10 most watched programs of the half were NFL Playoffs games that occurred in January.
- Six months after streaming leaders unveiled ad-supported tiers, data shows a strong link between binge-watching and audience retention.
- Almost three quarters (72%) of U.S. adults identify as binge-watchers, and those viewers turned out for the 2023 slate of bingeable shows, with an average of 47% of households watching the whole season of the top bulk-release shows within the first five days.
- While Netflix and Disney+ were the top two platforms in audience stickiness, the majority of streamers increased their retention of audiences in spite of declining reach in the first half of the year. Netflix posted the largest gains in households watching multiple programs across the streamer with a 19% increase from the last half, followed by Paramount+ at 14%.
- Streaming platforms like Netflix are offering a glimpse into how live entertainment content will fare streamed.: 6 in 10 Netflix and Disney+ subscribers said they would watch live events if those services offered more of them.
- Despite drama making up just 8% of programming spend for global streamers, the genre made up more than 50% of the top 50 streaming shows of the first half of the year. Rounding out the top three with over a quarter of the most-watched shows each were thrillers and comedies, typically accounting for drawing the first and third largest portions of original content spend respectively. Crime and docu-style programming, however, came in fourth and fifth, meaning that while these mainstays for original content are still yielding strong viewership, investing in dramas may yield larger audiences.
- Growing AVOD and FAST services present unique and innovative opportunities for advertisers. More AVOD offerings by the likes of Netflix and Disney+ are contributing to consumers opting to watch three or four services as opposed to one or two.
- 1 in 4 premium streaming video-on-demand (SVOD) subscriptions were ad-supported in 2023.
- Throughout the first half of the year, about half of households watched two or less streaming services, while the majority watched three or less. Despite limitless options of content to watch across platforms, people remain unlikely to watch more than a few services over the course of a six-month period.
- With 90% of streamers watching AVOD, and more FAST and AVOD offerings coming to market, this number is likely to continue to grow over the coming months.
- Harder to reach younger audiences are embracing these new options. 65% of millennials would consider subscribing to a discounted streaming service if it meant watching ads, while 32% of millennials subscribe to FAST services.
- With consumers looking to cut costs and limit the number of paid services they subscribe to, FAST becomes more and more appealing to Americans, with 1 in 3 U.S. streamers subscribe to FAST services.
- While linear television over-saturates audiences with redundant ads, advertisers should deploy an omniscreen approach to their strategy that embraces new creative like QR codes to connect with multitasking audiences.
- Half of TV viewers who consume the most linear TV are seeing the vast majority of ads (92%), while the other half of TV viewers are seeing just 8% of ad impressions. This means half of Americans were underreached or not reached at all, while the other half were bombarded by over 150 TV ads daily, driving ad fatigue among the overexposed.
- Overexposing audiences poses risks to audiences, with 62% of people saying it takes only 2-5 repeated viewings of the same ad in a month-long period to worsen their perception of the brand.
- Almost all Americans (8 in 10) are plugged into another device while also sitting in front of the biggest screen in the home. One in 5 U.S. adults have made purchases through QR codes shown on a TV ad.
The full Samba TV State of Viewership Report is available here.
