Adults in the U.S. and Canada have reported a slight decline in the average number of TV and video services they use, according to TiVo’s Q2 Video Trends Report. On average, respondents said they use 10.9 paid and non-paid sources, down from 11.6 in Q4 2022, though up from 9.9 during the year-earlier period.
The dip is the result of a drop in the average number of paid services used, from 7.6 in Q4 2022 to 6.9 in Q2 2023. By contrast, the average number of non-paid services used inched up from 3.9 to 4.0 during that period.
These findings come on the heels of other research indicating that the number of sources used by TV viewers has declined for the first time in five years. That study also found a slight decrease in the share of viewers using subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services, while free, ad-supported services (FASTs) remained steady.
Still, this latest research indicates that viewers continue to allocate more of their TV and video time to SVODs (30.7% share) than to AVOD/FAST/social video (28.3% share).
In this most recent report, Millennials (ages 26-41) averaged the most video sources (13.5), though this was down from a year earlier. Gen Z (18-25) followed closely, with an average of 13.1 sources, an uptick from the previous year.
There was also a large gap in the number of sources used by U.S. (12.0) and Canadian (7.1) adults.
Along with a dip in the number of video services used, respondents also averaged less spending on video. During Q2, they estimated spending $170.86 per month on video services, down from $189.38 in Q4 2022 and down from $178.30 during Q2 2022.
While the number of sources used was down slightly, viewers are still having a tough time finding and deciding what to watch. Fewer than 1 in 5 (18% of) respondents said that they always know exactly what they want to watch when they sit down to watch TV.
The key ways in which they discover content remain consistent from the previous year, led by word-of-mouth/ friends (45.3%) and commercials or ads that run during other shows (43.5%).
As regards ads, a majority (62% share) said they’re generally tolerant of ads, in that they don’t mind watching ads sometimes, but not always. However, the remainder were twice as likely to say they’re averse to ads (avoid watching ads during video: 25%) than to say they’re in favor of ads (prefer watching ads during video instead of paying: 13%).
Finally, more than one-quarter (27%) of respondents said they used their phone to scan a QR code in a TV show or commercial. This was down from 30% in Q4 2022, but up from 22% during the year-earlier period.
The results are based on a Q2 survey of 4,518 adults (18+) in the U.S. and Canada.