Researchers Warn YouTube, Netflix Habits Permanent

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youtuberedNetflixResearchers in the United Kingdom warn that as millennials age their viewing habits don’t suddenly change.


A survey of nearly 2,000 under-35s finds even when they move into their own homes and have families, they don’t revert back to paying for TV packages and watching linear television.

U.K. media regulator Ofcom found a major change in the viewing habits of millennials earlier this year but said it was too early to say whether it was permanent.

New research by LEK Consulting concludes YouTube and Netflix habits are likely fixed after interviewing millennials who still live with their parents and those who are now on their own, reports the Telegraph. TLEK included those with children and without in the survey.

“The new environment will be become tougher for traditional media companies to monetize as the internet brands muscle in more and more,” says LEK media consultant Martin Pilkington.

He notes pay-TV providers have countered this trend by offering less expensive “skinny bundles” of programming, however he says there needs to be faster innovation to capture and retain millennials’ interest.

Executives would want to know debate is intense both in the U.S. and abroad over how much impact online video will have on pay-TV and commercial broadcasters. We just reported some predict on-demand video viewing will surpass OTT appointment-based viewing within two years.