The growth of streaming services continues to expand more than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Did you know that streaming soared up 85% within the first three weeks of March? And since March 1st, Connected TV viewing has jumped over 200%? 

Since we’re unable to interact with one another in person as much as we used to, many have turned to the internet for news and entertainment, more so now than ever before. Since consumers have shifted more and more towards streaming and other types of online media, now is the time to use streaming services to your full advertising advantage.

Streaming 

Throughout March 2020, US consumers’ viewing of online content has continued to increase. It is estimated over 400 billion minutes of streaming content was viewed during that time - up 85% compared to the same three-week period in 2019 according to Nielsen analysis.

During the week of March 16th alone, consumers watched about 156.1 billion minutes of streaming content - up 22% from the week before and 2.2 times the same week in the prior year. 

With so much digital consumption happening, specific streaming services have seen a record boost in numbers. Services like YouTube (20% increase), Hulu (10% increase), and Amazon Fire TV (9% increase) all saw significant jumps in the total number of minutes streamed throughout the week of March 16th. Recently, other services are gaining momentum on television streaming as well, including Disney Plus being particularly popular while children are still at home due to quarantine.

And these numbers don’t even take into account streaming to 2nd and 3rd devices like tablets and smartphones.

Continued Expansion

While this trend ties directly into consumers staying at home during mandatory quarantines, it also coincides with the consistent growth of streaming. Prior to the pandemic, some streaming platforms saw new subscribers far surpass estimates, with approximately 15.8 million new subscribers in the first quarter instead of the projected 8.8 million. 

With the increase of people working from home in addition to cutting traditional cable, there is no sign of seeing this trend diminish. Now is the time to look at your own advertising media mix and increase your streaming video presence.