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Deloitte: More Options Allow U.S. Consumers to Piece Together Personalized Entertainment ExperiencesNEW YORK, March 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Faced with an unprecedented array of digital media sources, American consumers are taking their entertainment matters into their own hands and piecing together their experiences across multiple services (pay TV, streaming video, gaming and music) to access their favorite content, according to Deloitte's 13th edition of the "Digital Media Trends survey." The average U.S. consumer now subscribes to three streaming video services, with 43 percent of consumers subscribing to both streaming and traditional pay television (TV) services. This year's survey noted strong growth in streaming video subscription services (69 percent) and streaming music services (41 percent). Pay TV remained relatively flat with 65 percent of U.S. households subscribing to the same, and 29 percent paying for live TV streaming services. High-quality, original content continues to be a dominant factor in streaming video growth, with 57 percent of current U.S. streaming consumers (and 71 percent of millennials, ages 22-35) subscribing to streaming video services to access original content. The survey found that 37 percent of U.S. millennials binge-watch every week, watching an average of four hours in a single sitting. Consumers also continue to spend more time streaming video from their paid services (46 percent) versus free video streaming services (29 percent). Consumers are not only binge-watching in high numbers, they are also streaming movies, with 70 percent of millennials reporting they stream movies weekly, and 40 percent doing so daily. Furthermore, social media remains supreme with millennials (54 percent) in the search for new TV shows. "With more than 300 over the top video options in the U.S., coupled with multiple subscriptions and payments to track and justify, consumers may be entering a time of 'subscription fatigue,'" said Kevin Westcott, vice chairman and U.S. telecom and media and entertainment leader, Deloitte LLP. "As media companies and content owners wrestle with how to retain and grow their subscriber base, they should not only continue to strengthen their content libraries, quality, distribution and value, but also keep a close eye on consumer frustrations, including advertising overload and data privacy concerns." More freedom – and, more friction? While consumers know exactly what they want to watch (69 percent of the time), they also expressed frustrations with content discovery across platforms:
Consumers are also increasingly wary of how companies handle their data, with 82 percent citing they don't believe companies do enough to protect their personal data. Conversely, consumers overwhelmingly believe they are responsible for protecting (49 percent) and owning (88 percent) their data. Very few respondents (7 percent) believe that the government should play a role in protecting their data. Advertising overload – consumers tap out
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"Consumers are using a combination of services, so they can watch, hear and play what they want. They're not waiting for someone to provide it for them," concluded Dr. Jeff Loucks, executive director, Deloitte Center for Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Deloitte LLP. "Consumers love the freedom to customize their media consumption, but there's growing friction. Consumers have trouble finding their favorite programs across multiple subscriptions, get frustrated when content "vanishes" from a service without notice, and feel they sit through too many ads. Consumers will pick media companies that give them flexibility to choose the content they want, with less friction." The 13th edition of Deloitte's Digital Media Trends survey provides insight into how five generations of U.S. consumers interact with media, products and services, mobile technologies and the internet. This year's U.S. data was collected from December 2018 to February 2019 and employed an online methodology among 2,003 consumers. Connect with us on Twitter: @DeloitteTMT, @kwestcott911, @Jeff_Loucks, #digitalmedia and #tmttrends. About Deloitte Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deloitte-more-options-allow-us-consumers-to-piece-together-personalized-entertainment-experiences-300814357.html SOURCE Deloitte |