How Video-on-Demand Has Grown in the Past Few Years

Over-the-top video services are nearing saturation

February 16, 2016 | Video

This year, 186.9 million people in the US will watch video through an app or website like Hulu or YouTube, eMarketer forecasts. And overall, video-on-demand (VOD) usage among US cable subscribers has grown, per research.

Leichtman Research Group Inc. (LRG) surveyed 1,214 US adults who live in a household with a TV set. In 2010, 34% of US cable subscribers used VOD—from a cable or telco provider—over the course of a month. In 2015, VOD usage grew. Indeed, 51% of cable subscribers used it over the course of a month.

This increase in VOD usage is likely because TV viewers prefer to watch timeshifted shows on demand. A December 2015 survey from Hub Research found that nearly a third of US TV viewers prefer watching on demand—such as episodes of current TV shows after they air live on their regular day and time.

On the whole, over-the-top (OTT) video services are nearing saturation. By 2019, eMarketer estimates that 72.1% of US internet users will use OTT video services. Even though such high penetration suggests saturation, there is still significant room for growth for many players in the market.