Parks Associates: 24% of US Broadband Households With Fixed Broadband Service Likely to Upgrade in the Next Six Months

New research addresses continuing impact of COVID-19 on broadband usage, CE product adoption, OTT service stacking, and churn rates

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Parks Associates

Feb 10, 2021, 08:12 ET

DALLAS, Feb. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates today released a new Quantified Consumer study, COVID-19: Impact on Communications and Entertainment, which reveals that in 3Q 2020, more than 50% of US broadband households reported that their broadband usage has increased since the start of the COVID-19 crisis. While consumers report broadband performance is keeping pace with the increased demand, in Q3 2020, 24% of fixed broadband households reported plans to upgrade their speed in the next six months, compared to 18% in 2Q 2020.

Parks Associates: Likelihood of Making Changes to Broadband Service in the Next 6 Months

"Broadband upgrade plans indicate many households see some COVID-19-related changes as permanent," said Steve Nason, Research Director, Parks Associates. "For video services, OTT service stacking has been particularly pronounced, with 45% of US broadband households subscribing to three or more OTT services. Many consumers are planning to add new services such as Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Peacock as a permanent part of their OTT service portfolio, beyond the traditional Big 3: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu."

COVID-19: Impact on Communications and Entertainment examines the impact of COVID-19 on service providers and consumer adoption and satisfaction throughout the communications, consumer technology, and entertainment and home services sectors. The research reports COVID-19 continues to widen the OTT/pay-TV gap. As many across the US remain homebound, households are continually relying on video content to fill their time outside of work and school. Within video services, COVID-19 has accelerated the trend of video viewers accessing OTT offerings at much higher rates than a pay-TV service via a traditional or online provider.

"Many traditional pay-TV subscribers are migrating to online pay-TV offerings or standalone OTT services," Nason said. "Traditional providers, who still comprise the majority of the pay-TV market, have to continually seek ways to integrate online video services into their offerings either through homegrown solutions or external partnerships."

For more information on COVID-19: Impact on Communications and Entertainment and other studies, contact [email protected]. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific research data, please contact Rosey Ulpino at [email protected], 972.996.0233.

About Parks Associates

Parks Associates, a woman-owned and woman-led internationally recognized market research and consulting company, specializes in emerging technology solutions serving the consumer and small to medium business (SMB) markets. Celebrating its 35^th year in 2021, Parks Associates is a partner to companies navigating the changing consumer technology landscapes through data-driven market insights, extensive consumer and industry intelligence, custom marketing services, and executive networking experiences and conferences.

The company's expertise includes home automation, control systems and security, digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, internet and video services, connected health and independent living solutions, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer electronics, and energy management solutions.

Each year, Parks Associates hosts industry webcasts, the CONNECTIONS™ Conference Series, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, and Future of Video: OTT, Pay TV, and Digital Media. http://www.parksassociates.com

Contact:
Rosimely Ulpino
Parks Associates
972.996.0233
[email protected]

SOURCE Parks Associates