millennials, Netflix, cable tv

A new study which was commissioned by the Consumer Electronic Association and the NATPE shows that millennials prefer Netflix over cable tv or even broadcast tv. This group covers those age 13 to 34 years old, and they consider their Netflix subscriptions extremely valuable. During the research study 51% of the participants classified their subscription to Netflix as extremely valuable, but only 42% said the same thing about their broadcast tv and only 36% said the same for cable tv. The study findings were released at the 2015 Consumers Electronics Show. The research also shows that millennials watch television less, and just more than half use a television to view shows and videos. Roughly 50% watch television using a laptop, and 19% said that they prefer this viewing method over all others.

The fact that many Millennials prefer Netflix over cable tv or even broadcast programs could spell trouble for cable companies in the near future, and many Americans have already cut the cord. This has led to some cable companies trying to charge more because of the higher bandwidth required for optimal viewing, or attempting to throttle the bandwidth of Netflix users during high demand periods. According to Rod Perth, the CEO and President of NATPE “Our study confirms that the paradigm for TV content discovery has changed dramatically with increased availability and use of TV content streaming options.” By contrast older generations tend to prefer video on demand and DVRs which are offered by cable tv providers. The difference between generations is not surprising with the rapid advancement of technology.