In the US, Hulu is the fastest-growing subscription streamer on connected TV devices, with the number of households that watch it via those devices rising by 53% between January 2020 and June 2021.

This year, 48.7% of households will be non-pay TV households. That mark will reach over half of all Canadian households (51.1%) by 2022 and 56.9% by 2025. There has been a net loss of over 2 million pay TV households in the past five years. We forecast that pay TV will lose close to 1 million more households by 2025.

For decades, traditional TV advertisers have targeted ad messages at households. Jon Schulz, CMO at programmatic ad firm Viant Technology, joins eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin to discuss why even in the digital era it still makes sense to do so, and why advertiser spend will continue to shift into programmatic connected TV and linear TV.

Not surprisingly, SVOD viewing was more widespread in affluent homes; 85.6% of individuals in high-income households watched paid-for video content in Q1, compared with 68.3% of those in low-income households. Age variations were also marked among SVOD viewers—though less so than in H1 2020.

In 2022, 48.9% of households in Canada will have pay TV, marking a massive and continuing trend of cable cord-cutting in the country.

On today's episode, we discuss what the world will look like in 2030. How many households will still have pay TV, who will be the top three SVOD players, how big can esports get, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer vice president of forecasting Monica Peart, senior director of forecasting Shelleen Shum, and directors of forecasting at Insider Intelligence Cindy Liu and Oscar Orozco.

Usage was greatest (over 93%) in the 16-to-24 cohort; SVOD also reached more than 90% of internet users in high-income households. Adoption of smart TVs may be slowing, but smartwatches and smart wristbands finally achieved takeoff. Smart TV ownership passed the halfway mark in 2019 and stood at 53.4% in H1 2021. Penetration was greatest in high-income households, at 60.2%.

As in 2020, usage was generally higher among young adults ages 16 to 34, but internet users in high-income households posted the highest penetration, at over 26%.

Penetration was well above 80% in almost all demographic groups—the exceptions being 25- to 34-year-olds and respondents in low-income households. Digital video viewing surged between H1 2020 and H1 2021. More than 87% of all respondents had streamed video-on-demand (VOD) content in the month prior to polling this year; that share was above 90% among younger adults and those in high-income households.

Time-shifted viewing was more common among 16- to 34-year-olds, urban residents, and those in middle- and higher-income households. Broadcast radio also maintained an enviable reach in Q1, at nearly 82% of internet users, while time spent with radio rose marginally to 1:55 per day. Radio listening was more widespread in middle- and higher-income households, and among respondents ages 45 to 64.

Penetration remained above that average in middle- and high-income households, among respondents ages 45 to 64, and in suburban homes. Smartphone ownership declined by small increments in most cohorts year over year, to 95.6% of all respondents.

These figures represent increases relative to key metrics such as OTT video service users, digital video viewers, internet users, and the general population. Time spent on AVOD services grew dramatically in 2021. TVision reported that from May 2020 to May 2021, US time spent watching AVOD increased 200%.

This is because the number of addressable TV households keeps shrinking due to cord-cutting. Nearly 9 million US households have ditched pay TV since 2019. Linear programmatic TV is on a similar trajectory. Its ad spending is growing at a good clip, but its growth is curtailed by a reduction in the number of people watching traditional TV.