On-Demand Demographics: VOD Viewing Across Generations

 

Insights 

         

With the convenience and personalized benefits offered by on-demand program viewing, it’s no surprise that VOD is fast becoming a part of daily viewing habits for many around the world, regardless of age. In fact, among the 65% of global respondents who watch any type of VOD programming – which can include long- and short-form content – more than four-in-10 say they watch at least once a day (43%).

And it’s not just the youngest respondents viewing on-demand programming. While a higher percentage of Generation Z (aged 15–20) and Millennial (aged 21–34) respondents report watching on-demand content daily or more often (49% and 48%, respectively) than their older counterparts, more than one-fifth (21%) of Silent Generation respondents (aged 65+) and one-quarter (26%) of Baby Boomers (aged 50-64) say they watch at least once a day. Generation X respondents (aged 35-49) fall in the middle, both age-wise and in self-reported on-demand viewing, with 38% saying they view daily.

 

Movies dominate the type of VOD content watched across all regions and generations. Eighty percent of global respondents who watch on-demand content say they view movies, followed by on-demand TV programs (50%). When it comes to popular program genres, comedies (38%) and original series (32%) rank the highest globally, followed by sports and documentaries (31% each). Twenty-two percent of global respondents say they watch short-form video content (videos of 15 minutes or less in length).

So what does the current cross-generational popularity of VOD viewing mean for future viewing patterns? A look at willingness to pay for programming options by generation provides some insight.

A majority of respondents across all age groups say they pay to watch broadcast or video programming via a cable and/or satellite service. Globally, 70% of Gen Z and 73% of Millennial respondents say they pay this type of traditional provider for content, compared with 77% of Gen X, 64% of Baby Boomer and 63% of Silent Generation respondents. Online-service subscriptions (such as Hulu, Netflix and Amazon), however, skew younger. In fact, 31% each of Gen Z and Millennial respondents say they pay an online-service provider for content. The figures are lower among older respondents, as 24% of Gen X, 15% of Baby Boomer and 6% of Silent Gen respondents say they pay an online service provider for content.

Daily

A few times per week

3 times per month or less

Source: Nielsen Global Video-on-Demand Survey, Q3 2015