Limelight Networks’ New White Paper About the Shift to Online Video

Limelight Networks’ new “State of Online Video” report shows that consumers worldwide are watching more online video than ever — increasing 58% since 2016, to an average of six hours, 45 minutes each week.

However, the study finds consumers still spend more time watching traditional broadcast, averaging eight hours, two minutes each week. Performance issues with online video, such as live event delays and video rebuffering, continue to turn viewers off, pushing them to rely on traditional broadcast viewing.

In fact, 60% of global consumers note they would be more likely to watch live sports online if they were guaranteed not to experience viewing delays. When it comes to online video frustrations, rebuffering is the primary area of contention for viewers, with two-thirds (66%) reporting they will stop watching a video after two rebuffers.

Additional insights from the report include:

Cable subscribers pay for more streaming services than cord-cutters. More than half (59%) of worldwide consumers subscribe to at least one video on demand (VOD) service. Cable subscribers are supplementing (not replacing) traditional TV with online video, paying for an average of 1.2 streaming services, while non-cable subscribers pay for 0.7 service.

• Millennials lead the global shift to online video. Respondents age 18-35 currently watch more online video than broadcast. Young millennials (age 18-25) watch an average of nine hours,13 minutes of online video weekly compared to six hours, 11 minutes of traditional TV. 15% of young millennials spend more than 20 hours a week watching online video.
• Consumers will cancel their service due to price increases. More than half (55%) of worldwide consumers say price increases would be the primary reason for canceling an SVOD service. Nearly half (46%) note the same for their cable subscription.
• Online viewing ranges widely by country. Viewers in the Philippines watch the most online video at eight hours, 46 minutes each week, followed closely by India and the United States at nearly eight and a half hours of viewing each week. Germany has the lowest online video viewership rate at five hours, two minutes.

“As consumer adoption of online video has increased, patience for video interruptions is at an all-time low,” says Michael Milligan, Senior Director at Limelight Networks. “Missed moments spoil live online viewing experiences, which means that providers must ensure low latency to lure viewers away from traditional TV. Limelight Realtime Streaming solves this problem by enabling organizations to stream live video in less than a second, providing online viewers with the same experience enjoyed by broadcast viewers.”

The State of Online Video report is based on responses from 5,000 consumers in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States age 18 and older who watch one hour or more of online video content each week. The full report is available here.