US: 10% of streaming video services borrowed from someone else

10% of Streaming Video Services are Borrowed From Someone Else

DURHAM, NH — New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) found that 88% of U.S. households have at least one streaming video service from fifteen top subscription video on-Demand and direct-to-consumer (DTC) services, and 53% of households have four or more DTC streaming video services.

However, not all DTC services are paid for directly by those who use them. The study found that:

• 73% of all DTC services are fully paid for and are not shared with others outside the household
• 23% of all DTC services are used in more than one household. Among these:
  • 11% of DTC services are used and paid for by those that also share them with someone outside the household
  • 10% of DTC services are used in one household but are borrowed from another household that is paying for the service
  • 2% of DTC services are used by multiple households that share costs
• 4% of DTC services are not paid for because they come with another service

These findings are based on an online survey of 2,546 households from throughout the United States and are part of a new LRG study, Internet-Delivered TV Services 2024. This is LRG’s seventh annual study focused on the vMVPD category, along with other DTC streaming video services.

Other findings from the study include:

• Among adults ages 18-44, the mean number of DTC services is 5.1 – compared to 4.0 among ages 45-54, and 2.8 among ages 55+
• Among ages 18-34, 17% of all DTC services are fully paid for by someone else – compared to 7% among ages 35+
• Ages 18-34 account for 59% of all DTC services that are borrowed by adults
• 10% with Netflix borrow the service from someone else – compared to 15% in 2022, 14% in 2020, and 16% in 2018
• Adults ages 18-44 account for 57% of all with a vMVPD pay-TV service
• 72% of vMVPD subscribers are very satisfied with their service – compared to 79% in 2022, 76% in 2020, and 69% in 2018
• 22% of all vMVPD services are shared by multiple households, including 8% of all vMVPD services that are fully paid for by someone outside the household

“Password sharing continues to be prevalent throughout the streaming video industry, despite recent efforts to limit it. This study found that 10% of all DTC services are borrowed from someone else, down from 12% in 2022,” said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research Group, Inc. “Overall, 20% of households have at least one DTC service that is paid for by another household.”