What Streaming Service Is Tops With Viewers? It All Depends On Your Age - September 26, 2022

A new survey finds that what people are watching -- and where they're watching it -- differs drastically depending on the digital generation they grew up in

WHAT ARE PEOPLE watching online these days and what streaming service are they using? Unsurprisingly, the answers vary depending on age.

A new report from Variety VIP+ finds that viewers in the 15 to 29-year-old range prefer streaming content on YouTube, Netflix and TikTok, followed by Hulu.

Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook are next on their go-to streaming list before Disney+, HBO Max and Amazon Prime round out the top ten.

Those in the 30 to 44-year-old range rank Netflix as their most popular streaming destination followed by YouTube, Facebook, Hulu and Prime. Unsurprisingly TikTok and Snapchat are far down the list, supplanted this time by HBO Max and Disney+. The sports streaming service ESPN+ shows up in the top ten for this older demographic, as do single-network streamers like Peacock and Paramount+.

Streaming services dominate the way both groups watch TV and movies. For both demographics, traditional cable and TV networks rank at the bottom of their preferred entertainment destinations.

Pricing doesn’t appear to be a huge issue for these groups. Netflix and HBO Max are the most expensive out of the streaming services, with both at $9.99/month (HBO Max is offering a 30% off deal right now though).

A subscription to Disney+ currently costs $7.99/month while a month of Hulu will ring up at . However, users can save with the Disney+ Bundle, which gets you Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ together for just $13.99/month, making it one of the best deals and values in streaming.

Paramount+ and Peacock are the cheapest streaming services, with both priced at $4.99/month for an ad-supported plan (Peacock does currently have a promo going on that gets you a month of service for just $1.99).

While all of the streaming services offer thousands of hours of on-demand content, only YouTube and Hulu offer live TV channels as well. YouTube TV currently costs $64.99/month while Hulu has a deal that gets you into their Hulu + Live TV plan for X.

When it comes to favorite entertainment formats, the younger group ranked “using social media” and “playing video games” as their top ways to entertain themselves. The older group had “watching TV shows” and “watching movies” instead.

What that shows: “the world of entertainment is becoming increasingly fragmented,” Variety VIP+ reports, with streaming services having to differentiate themselves more than ever, in an effort to keep their current audiences satisfied, while bringing on new subscribers as well.

Variety VIP+ surveyed more than 1700 people for this report, and rather than splitting up the group by “generations” (I.e. millennials or Gen Z), they divided the group into “lifestyle stages.” Those aged 15-29 were dubbed “digital natives,” as they have primarily been exposed to digital-first content for most of their lives.

Those in the 30-44-year-old range are dubbed “digital originalists,” as they were around when the move from traditional viewing to online viewing first began. Viewers aged 45 and up were those who grew up only with “linear entertainment.” Unsurprisingly, those in the latter category are still the most traditional consumers of content, with many in the 45+ age range still watching TV on cable.

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(Rolling Stone)

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Greg Tingle

Rolling Stone. I partly agree with the news and the data coming out of the Variety report. We're based in Australia, so there's also a counties demo and other pop culture differences to consider, as well as what's knows as geo blocking on some streaming services (which can be beaten we hear via the right proxy's and I.P masks and so on). In Australia combat sports and pro wrestling is very popular, hence the WWE developing quite the strangle hold, and that's recently been picked up by the Foxtel Group including Binge. FITE (which has AEW and NWA) has a small but hardcore base, and 10 Play now has Women Of Wrestling. Binge is part of the Fox deal getting current WWE. Paramount Plus enjoys a cult following for the likes of 'The Twilight Zone'. Netflix and it's 'Blonde' has the critics divided, if not disturbed. Free thinkers still gravitate to YouTube, Spotify, Rumble and others (not on the R.S list). Ms Musks' PassionFlix gets the romance niche. What a Pandora's Box of streaming choices. The consumer and bean counters win. The market has peaked I believe. Aussie Media Man out.