Hub In the News

If nothing else, the recent NewFronts presentations established one thing: everyone’s going FAST … and fast. Media companies are multiplying their free ad-supported TV channels, services and original programming like rodents in rut, with lots more coming soon. As more and more options pile up, though,…

The worst of the inflation that gripped world markets in 2022 has passed, but those forces undeniably had their effects on consumer spending habits. Customers the world over were more careful with their budgets last year, as the price of essential goods rose at a rate…

Hub’s 2023 Best Bundle report was conducted in March/April 2023 based on a survey conducted among 1,603 US consumers with broadband, age 16-74, who watch at least 1 hour of TV per week. The standout finding was that after showing strong growth – doubling between 2019…

For the first time in five years, consumers report a decrease in the number of TV sources they use. Hub Entertainment Research’s annual Best Bundle survey shows viewers dialled down how many video services they ‘stacked’ in 2023 – but the big question is whether this is a…

This year has seen consumers begin to reduce the number of video services they use — the first time in the five years that Hub Entertainment Research has been conducting its “Best Bundle” survey. The results also show a significant drop in the number subscribing to…

For the first time in five years, consumers are reducing the number of TV sources they use in the home. New data from Hub Entertainment Research found that survey respondents on average dropped the number of video sources from 7.4 in 2022 to 6.4 this year….

Over the past five years the number of TV sources consumers use has been on an upward trajectory, but data from Hub Entertainment Research shows a new reversal in that trend – with viewers now stacking fewer video services than they did in 2022. Hub’s annual…

The good days are over, and it’s all going to suck from this point on. OK, that is a little too dark. But what can we say, Hub Entertainment Research’s latest annual Best Bundle report — not to mention the soft interior defense of the Los Angeles Lakers…

After showing strong growth – doubling between 2019 and 2022, from 3.7 to 7.4 –, the average number of TV sources used by viewers has dropped in 2023 to 6.4, according to Hub Entertainment Research’s latest report. More >>  

Some 77% of TV homes in Q1 of this year had a smart TV, up 10% points from Q1 2020, according to a report [excerpt download page] from Hub Entertainment Research. With TV homes reporting an average of 1.7 smart TVs per home, Hub estimates that Americans now…

The research note acknowledges that streaming marketers have done a good job of driving awareness with even the newest platforms boast brand awareness of more than 90%. But it stresses that value propositions are another story as far fewer consumers feel confident they know what makes…

There’s a fundamental shift in how the next generation of consumers defines “entertainment,” according to data from Hub Entertainment Research. Gen Z spends more time watching non-premium video and playing video games than watching TV, according to Hub. Unlike their parents — for whom “must see…

AM/FM radio has long been the top source of in-car audio, and it seems that old habits die hard. Almost two-thirds (63%) of Americans surveyed by Hub Entertainment Research report using OTA radio either every time or most times when driving. The study [excerpt download page] finds that this…

The streaming wars have drastically changed and so has the television landscape for 2023 as economic reality comes home to roost. “The grand experiment of creating something at any cost is over,” David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, told Deadline late last year. More >>  

According to findings from Hub Entertainment Research, while digital options are increasingly important, ‘traditional’ media such as broadcast radio still play important roles for those on-the-go. The study, Media on the Move 2022, details what media devices Americans use while on the move: in their cars, on…

Streaming video is one of the key content choices for consumers while traveling on mass transit, according to new data from Hub Entertainment Research. When traveling by mass transportation, streaming video captured the attention of nearly 50% of all commuters, according to the study. Still, Hub…

Netflix’s subscriber growth is surging again, providing an early sign that its shift to include ads in a cheaper version of its video streaming service is helping to combat tougher competition and attract cost-conscious customers grappling with inflation. The company on Thursday disclosed a gain of…

Hub’s research observed that 44% of US TV homes have both a smart TV and an SMP, more than those that have only a smart TV (25%) or only an SMP (14%). When it counted SMPs attached to smart TVs, well over half of smart TVs (57%)…

A plurality of TV homes have both a smart TV and a streaming media player (44%), more than those that have only a smart TV (25%) or only a streaming media player (14%), according to Hub Entertainment Research’s latest report. More >>  

Kantar recently declared that “Streaming has gone full circle, once being the destination to avoid Cable TV ads, to increasingly relying on ads to drive growth.” Indeed, the popularity of so-called FAST services (free, ad-supported TV streaming services) continues to expand, according to a study [excerpt download page]…

According to a survey conducted among TV viewers in the United States between June 2021 and December 2022, 57 percent of respondents surveyed in the latter period said they would rather watch ads if it meant they would save four or five U.S. dollars per month….

Looking at recent data from three respected analyst firms, the number of US households with connected smart TVs could be between 65 and 87 million. Which is right? Trying to figure out something as fundamental to our industry as the number of US homes with a…

Over the past decade, Netflix has been at the forefront of the streaming revolution, most notably for its perk trifecta of full-season TV drops, binge-worthy original series, and ad-free access to 17k+ titles—and counting. But a new age is on the horizon for the streaming giant—one…

Just over three years into the Modern Era of streaming video, and Wall Street’s analysts are about ready to call the revolution done. Over at MoffettNathanson, analyst Michael Nathanson has been saying for months the combatants are exhausted, practically punch drunk. They’ve been finding, financing and…

Television, gaming, and social media were once separate categories of entertainment, but in 2023, these are all available and consumed on the same screens and devices, plus, they all compete for the same pool of disposable time. This is according to Hub Entertainment Research’s annual Video Redefined study,…

The new Video Redefined study was conducted among 1,900 US consumers age 13-74 in December 2022 and the standout finding centred around Gen Z viewers, showing how this cohort now have an entirely different definition of “entertainment”. Specifically, for decades, TV has been the focus of the entertainment…

For generations, the marriage of sports and media has helped define emerging distribution platforms. The long, slow hum of baseball made it a natural for the rise of radio in the U.S. football, whose line of scrimmage could easily be encapsulated in one moving image, was…

Hub Entertainment Research and Horowitz Research agree that young viewers aged 13-24 watch much less TV than older people. Hub’s December 2022 study of 1,900 US consumers aged 13 to 74 asked participants about their total screen-based leisure time. It found that 17% of that time was…

A survey from November 2022 found that the vast majority of non-subscribers in the U.S. would still not subscribe to Disney+ and Netflix if the ad-supported tiers become available. A total of 11 percent of respondents planned to subscribe to Disney+ with ads and 15 percent…

New research continues to highlight a generational shift in the importance of the TV screen and traditional TV viewing among younger viewers aged 13 to 24, the so-called Gen Z cohort. New TV research from Hub finds that the focus on the “streaming wars” overlooks a…

For the past few years, there’s been a lot of chest-puffing between NetflixNFLX +1.5% and HBO, the perennial awards show nominations leaders, over who receives the most Golden Globe Awards nominations. This year, the pay cable network and the streamer tied for the lead among TV nominees with 14 nods…

During an October 2022 survey among U.S. gaming households, Microsoft’s Xbox Live or Game Pass narrowly beat out Sony’s PlayStation Plus offering in terms of popularity. When asked about which gaming sources were a must-have for them, 58 percent of respondents stated that Xbox gaming subscriptions…

The major streamers had a rough ride in 2022, with their stocks falling anywhere from 29% (Comcast Corporation) to 62% (Warner Bros. Discovery) in the past year. But 2023 will offer a fresh opportunity to turn those stock declines around — if they can adapt to the…