Almost half of Brits plan to stream more TV this Christmas

LONDON — As we rapidly approach the festive season, almost one in two Brits (48%) have revealed they are planning to watch a lot more TV via streaming over the Christmas holidays, compared to usual. That’s according to the latest research commissioned by adtech company, The Trade Desk.

Yet, whilst the appetite for content over Christmas is strong, almost one in five (18%) report that they can’t afford to sign up to every streaming service to access all the festive content they’d like to watch. And it’s the younger generations who are most likely to miss out, with nearly a quarter (22%) of 18–34-year-olds agreeing with this.

Unwrapping free content this festive period

As a result, many young adults appear to have planned ahead and have saved free trials of streaming services ready to unwrap this Christmas, with over a quarter of 18-34s (27%) reporting that they have saved a free trial for the festive period.

However, 1 in 5 (19%) plan to cancel some of their services immediately after the holidays, rising to a quarter (24%) of 18-34 year olds – suggesting platforms will need to work hard to convert free trials into long-term subscribers.

Moreover, one in five (21%) Brits (rising to 24% of 18–34-year-olds) are planning to make the most of free streaming services to expand their library of festive content without having to fork out for more subscriptions. This comes as a similar number (16%) of 18-34 year olds call on streaming services to introduce advertisements over the Christmas period to allow access to their content for free.

“As the countdown to Christmas approaches, it’s clear that streaming is fast becoming the new digital fireplace in most households” comments Phil Duffield, VP UK at The Trade Desk. “This is a testament to the premium content now available on a plethora of streaming platforms, with creativity to be found in spades.”

“Every consumer deserves access to the same wealth of content, and advertising can make this possible. There is a clear appetite for this – particularly among the younger generations who are more likely to miss out. Streaming platforms should consider it their New Years’ resolution to offer hybrid subscriptions, where some content is free and some is ad-supported, ensuring that everyone can fill up on the TV they want.”