A new Horowitz Research study highlights the very important role that multicultural users are playing in driving over-the-top (OTT) and streaming video usage, with Hispanics, Asians and blacks being much more likely to be heavy OTT users than whites.
Currently about 88% of urban TV content viewers have the ability to stream video content to a computer, mobile device, or directly to a TV, according to the “State of Cable & Digital Media: Multicultural Edition 2015” study from Horowitz.
It also found 51% of Hispanics, 46% of Asians and 45% of blacks were spending more than 20% of their total TV viewing time watching content on OTT services.
In contrast only 39% of white viewers report spending that much time with OTT services.
Adriana Waterston, Horowitz’s senior VP, insights and strategy, noted that these multicultural groups have been on the leading edge of tech change for a number of years. “Multicultural consumers have always paved the way for new technology, especially when it comes to television and entertainment,” she said in a statement.
The study reveals OTT capability and viewing differences by ethnic groups.
About 81% of Asians have the ability to view video on a mobile device, versus about 75% among the whole population.
Among OTT users, Asians are more likely to be mobile/computer-only streamers.
About three quarters (76%) of all Hispanics have the ability to stream to TVs versus 70% among the total population. In addition to having the highest penetration of being able to stream to TVs, Hispanic OTT users are more likely to stream to multiple devices. About 62% stream to a TV and a mobile device or computer, compared to 57% among total.
Three-quarters (73%) of blacks have stream-to-TV capability. Blacks are also more likely to have a connected gaming console (53% vs. 47% among total).
The study has been conducted annually for many years and has become an important source of data on pay-TV usage, technology and video usage among multicultural consumers.
This year’s study was conducted by Horowitz Research in January and February 2015 among 1,994 heads of household 18+ who are TV content viewers in urban (population 50,000+) markets.
