OTT continues to rise with majority of users streaming more content than ever

The growth of streaming as central to TV viewing has been brought to new light by a new report.

According to CenturyLink, over 80% of consumers are streaming more video than three years ago, while 45% of respondents defined TV as being delivered over the internet.

These figures come from a survey carried out by CenturyLink and Streaming Video Alliance of more than 6,000 adults in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland.

The majority of respondents (73%) have one or two OTT subscriptions, while 27% said they have three or more subscriptions. Short form video consumption has also emerged in prominence, with 34% of respondents saying they watch multiple videos which are less than five minutes long on a daily basis.

Despite 50% of consumers using their smartphone for video streaming at least once per day, the big screen remains a core social activity with 60% of respondents watching online content on television at least once per day. Of those mobile video viewers, 47% said they had lower expectations of stream quality on their mobile devices.

Respondents were also asked about account sharing, with 65% saying they would pay extra to legitimise sharing of their subscriptions with friends and families.

Rory McVicar, director of product management, internet and content delivery services, EMEA at CenturyLink said: “When it comes to streaming, delivering an exceptional user experience is of increasing importance for driving customer loyalty. Streaming providers must invest in technologies that will provide scalable and reliable content delivery.”