What do you think of when you hear “Generation Y”? Social Media comes to mind, technology, a slew of pop artists… however you look at it, Generation Y is associated with the New. In its 2013 Millennial Video Entertainment survey, however, TiVo found that regardless of how they are consuming video, Millennials’ – the name given to the people born between the early 1980s to the early 2000s, or ‘Generation Y’ – preferred traditional TV series as their content of choice over full length movies, live events or music videos.
TiVo’s online survey of Millennials and other generations covered a broad swath of video activity that included what they were watching, how they were accessing the video content and whether their video consumption has increased or decreased in the past year. The purpose of the study was to understand the relationship between the kinds of content Millennials view and the platforms and methods they use to experience that content as compared to preceding generations.
Video consumption is commonly thought of as being on the rise, but according to the study there is a sharp year-over-year decline in certain types of video content among all generations. Viewership of full length movies, live events and music videos was reported to be lower by all four generations surveyed. Millennials’ consumption of TV shows is, however, on the rise; 14 percent of those surveyed reported a growing appetite for television programs. User-generated content ranked second with an 8 percent lift in viewing among Millennials.
According to the survey, more than one-third (36 percent) of Millennials’ TV viewing time was spent viewing traditional TV content such as TV shows and live sports. The attributes that we’ve come to associate with this generation, however, came to play when we looked at the way they access this content: Unlike previous generations, Millennials primarily access video from streaming and subscription services, whether they be through individual TV channel apps and web sites, or streaming services such as Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus and Netflix. While Millennials’ appetite for traditional video content continues to grow, their viewing platform of choice represents a shift away from traditional TV sources. Almost three-quarters (72 percent) of those surveyed report using free online streaming services, and nearly two-thirds (60 percent) regularly use subscription video-on-demand solutions. This demonstrates a large disparity with the other generations, who report utilizing free and subscription services 40% of the time.
To collect data for the 2013 Millennial Video Entertainment survey TiVo conducted an online survey of 3,704 people, ages 13 to 74 years old, between Nov. 26 and Dec.15, 2013. Participants were evenly balanced by gender. 1,598 were Millennials (ages 13-36); Gen X participants totaled 621 (ages 37-48); 1,241 Baby Boomers (ages 49-67); 244 from the Silent Generation (ages 68-74). Additional details about this survey and other TiVo research are available from TiVo Research (http://tivoresearch.com and insights@tivoresearch.com).
