The consumption of free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services like Tubi, Peacock, and Pluto TV play a major role in driving free streaming, with some 45% of Black TV viewers reporting using at least one FAST service in the past month, compared to 35% of total market consumers.
That’s according to a just-released report on African American and Blacks from the Caribbean and African nations from Horowitz Research.
Black Americans over-index for using free OTT services compared to the total market, with 4 in 5 (80%) using them within the past month, compared to 69% of consumers overall. In fact, usage of free OTT services among Black audiences has grown tremendously from 13% since 2019.
The data come from Horowitz’s FOCUS Black Volume 1 report.
The study also finds that subscription to SVOD services has continued its upward trajectory among Black TV content viewers. In 2022, nearly 7 in 10 (68%) Black consumers said they subscribe to at least one SVOD; this year 76% say they subscribe (an additional 7% have access without a fully paid subscription), over-indexing compared to the total market (67%).
The top SVOD services Black TV content viewers use are Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. In addition, Black viewers report subscribing to a variety of Black-targeted SVODs such as BET+, Black World Cinema, ALLBLK, and Zeus, among others. Notably, 60% of Black TV content viewers surveyed say that having Black-focused content is important for their household, underscoring the role robust, varied Black content has in driving adoption and usage of streaming services, whether paid or free.
Black content can also be a retention tool for both MVPDs and vMVPDs: Two in three Black subscribers to MVPD or vMVPD services give favorable ratings to their provider’s selection of channels geared towards Black audiences, the study finds.
Black Viewers Are Key to Pay TV, Streaming Markets
“For years, Horowitz’s data has underscored that Black audiences are among the most valuable customers when it comes to the pay TV market, and the same holds true in the streaming space,” said Adriana Waterston, Chief Revenue Officer and Insights & Strategy Lead for Horowitz Research. “This audience is hungry for content, which drives higher consumption across a wide variety of platforms and services. In today’s fragmented media ecosystem, offering a broad array of content that represents the diversity of Black experiences, lifestyles, cultures, and communities is an important way for media companies to serve this important audience and keep them engaged.”
The Horowitz survey was conducted in January-February 2023 among 643 Black TV content viewers 18+. Data have been weighted to ensure results are representative of the overall TV universe.
