Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

An Accenture survey of internet users around the world found a dramatic shift in TV viewing preferences, with computers abruptly displacing TVs as the preferred device for watching TV shows.

The study, which surveyed 26,000 internet users worldwide, found a sharp drop—from 52% in 2016 to 23% in 2017—of people who said they preferred to watch TV shows the traditional way, on a TV.

Meanwhile, more than four in 10 respondents (42%) said they preferred to watch TV shows on a laptop or desktop, up from 32% last year. The number who opted for smartphone viewing also grew, but less dramatically.

When it comes to short video clips—though many respondents preferred to watch them via a laptop or desktop—the preference for viewing them on smartphones grew substantially in 2017 compared with a year prior....

While media industry execs believe that over-the-top (OTT) services will supplement rather than replace pay-TV, TV viewers themselves believe that pay-TV will be largely replaced by alternative viewing sources in the next 5 years, according to survey results from MarketCast. Currently, (a seemingly-high) 25% of respondents believe that traditional TV service subscribers are in the minority.

In 5 years, though, 53% believe that TV viewers subscribing to the traditional model will be in the minority. That would require a huge increase in cord-cutters, estimated to last year comprise just 1.1% of pay-TV households....