Netflix Usage to Reach More than Two-Thirds of OTT Users
But user growth will slow
April 15, 2016
Netflix continues to grow its user base in the US, with 126.9 million people expected to use it this year, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast on OTT video usage. That equates to 67.9% of OTT video users. Among the OTT service providers eMarketer tracks, only YouTube has more users than Netflix—176.1 million, which equates to 94.3% of OTT users.
However, while Netflix led the category in growth last year by a wide margin, growth will slow considerably in 2016. This year, growth will slow to 11.1% over 2015. While considerably lower growth than it had in 2015, that puts it more in line with its competitors. Hulu, by comparison, will grow 11.8% and Amazon’s video service will grow 12.3%.
Growth in overall digital video viewership continues to shrink, as the category matures. This year, 213.2 million people in the US will watch digital video online at least once a month, a growth of 3.6% over last year. That figure represents 80.3% of internet users and 65.8% of the population.
Growth in time spent watching digital video is also slowing. This year, adults in the US will spend an average of 1 hour and 8 minutes per day watching digital video on desktop and mobile devices. By comparison, US adults will spend an average of 4 hours and 5 minutes a day watching traditional television in 2016.