Criteo: over half of British consumers think SVOD offers better value
More than half of Brits think streaming services provide better value for money than cable and have better content than traditional TV, according to consumer data platform Criteo.
Netflix comes out as the top streaming service in Criteo report
Despite consumer preference for subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) content, Criteo’s ‘The State of Video and Connected TV’ report revealed one-third of UK consumers still spend more than £50 per month on a cable, but only one in eight spend the same on SVOD.
The report, which surveyed 1,000 UK customers, also revealed gen Z and millennial consumers are more likely to use free streaming services in the coming year – 42% v 29% for other demographics.
As expected, the pandemic has accelerated the popularity of SVOD, with 62% watching more content on paid streamers than pre-pandemic. The primary reason for watching more SVOD content was staying home (56%), but 41% said the streamer’s original content offering was a key draw.
Netflix and iPlayer came out on top as the nation’s most-used platforms – 72% and 68% respectively – with YouTube and ITV Hub joint third at 47%. There was an underwhelming performance for ITV and the BBC’s fledgling streamer BritBox, which is used by just 7%.
There was a positive outlook for advertising on streamers, with almost half preferring video ads and 37% of respondents claiming they wanted to see ads when the information was useful and relevant – although 40% did say they didn’t want to see the same ad too many times.
Looking ahead to 2022, nearly a third of consumers (29%) said they would spend more time on paid streaming services next year.
Matthew Hogg, vice-president at Criteo, said: “While the pandemic has created massive disruption across all sectors, it is the streaming platforms that are winning big here.
“With many consumers planning to use their streaming services even more next year, we’re going to see one of the most competitive industries become even more competitive.”