Food for thought from the new, improved Deadline.Com. (And we hate saying that cuz we really love Nikki.)
Has Netflix Helped Cap DVR Growth?
by David Lieberman
The $7.99-a-month streaming service appears to have dampened many consumers’ interest in DVRs, which cost $10 or more a month, according a study out this morning from Leichtman Research Group.
It shows DVR growth plateauing: 47% of households have one vs 45% last year and 44% in 2011. (It was 23% in 2007.) That’s partly due to cable marketing strategies. It’s easier to entice well-to-do customers to pay for multiple DVRs than to persuade people who don’t have one to buy. Half of homes that do take DVR service have more than one, up from 43% last year and 33% in 2011.
But Netflix also is a factor. “It’s become a TV service in the last two years,” says Bruce Leichtman, the firm’s president. “Especially younger people are not going for the DVR. It’s an expense thing.” And Netflix affects a lot more than DVR usage. While the jury’s out on whether Netflix contributes to pay TV cord cutting, it appears to be a factor in what Leichtman calls “cord deferring.” Some 46% of people who don’t subscribe to pay TV buy Netflix, up from 34% last year. Leichtman also found that 51% of all 18-to-34 year olds subscribe to Netflix, up from 40% last year. People who get the service use it a lot. About 29% of all Netflix subscribers stream video daily, up from 10% in 2010, while 70% do so weekly, up from 43%.