One third of UK broadband households are subscribed to an OTT video service, according to a Parks Associates study.
The research project, Connected Consumer in Europe, revealed that 33 per cent of UK broadband households signed up as of Q3 2015.
It also showed that only 15 per cent subscribe to premium movie channels.
“Overall OTT video usage in the UK favours broadcasters,” said Brett Sappington, director of research at Parks Associates. “The most popular OTT video sources in the UK include BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD (now All4), and Demand5 – all catch-up or on-demand offerings from broadcasters.
“New OTT video market entrants, especially those with paid services, will have to provide unique value in order to make substantial gains.
“However, the demand for interesting content is strong enough that there are market opportunities for new OTT video players. Nearly 20 per cent of UK broadband households have recently used a Netflix service, despite the free OTT catch-up options.”
The survey investigated broadband households in the UK, Germany, Spain, and France to identify pay-TV and OTT video adoption and usage trends. Sky and Virgin Media (Liberty Global) control almost 80 per cent of pay-TV households in the UK, with Talk Talk now rivalling BT in pay-TV services with eight per cent of the UK market.
The project also found that 54 per cent of pay-TV subscribers in the UK subscribe to Sky’s pay-TV service.
