47 Must-Know Live Video Streaming Statistics [UPDATE]

Live video has taken the world by storm, and we’ve got the live streaming stats to prove it. Our streaming experts have compiled a list of key video statistics that will tell you exactly what you need to know about live streaming. Find out how audiences are engaging with live video, where it’s headed, and which industries are leading the live video revolution.

Live Video Streaming Stats: Audience Behavior

1. According to a survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 47% of live streaming video viewers worldwide are streaming more live video compared with a year ago.

2. Nearly as many (44%) said they watch less live TV as a result of live streaming.

3. Conviva’s 2018 State of the Streaming TV Industry report found that viewing hours of live video content rose 65% from 2017 to 2018, accounting for the “largest global surges in viewership throughout 2018.”

4. Nielsen’s U.S. Video 360 Report 2018 found that 42% of the population in the U.S. have now live-streamed online content — a significant rise from 25% in 2017.

5. According to analysis conducted by Nielsen and MoffettNathanson, 86 of the top 100 most-watched live telecasts in the United States in 2017 were sporting events — up from 48 in 2011.

6. In 2019, live streaming for Super Bowl LIII was up 19% in terms of minutes consumed, to 560 million.

7. Viewers tuned into the big game between the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams across 7.5 million devices, up 20% from 2018, according to CBS.

8. The live streaming industry is booming in China. In 2018, it reached 425 million users.

9. Live streaming is going to be a $70.5 billion industry by 2021.

10. Consumers have a low tolerance for a bad stream. For many, 90 seconds is the most a viewer will tolerate a spotty stream.

11. Consumers struggle with finding video content: only 12% say they are able to find content on streaming platforms easily, according to PwC.

12. The set-top box (Live TV, VOD, DVR) as a viewing destination decreased from 64% to 56%.

13. Nearly half (42%) of people keep the cord (don’t cancel their cable) due to live TV, according to a Telaria and Adobe study. However, 30% of cable keepers said they would cut the cord if they knew they could stream all of their favorite live sports, events, and news.

14. Almost 8% of pay-TV subscribers said they’re “extremely likely” to cancel their service in the next year, compared with about 6% in 2017, a survey by Frank N. Magid Associates found.

15. According to that same study, 14% of millennials say they plan to cut the cord.

16. U.S. adults now spend nearly 6 hours per day watching video. The span (5:57) represents an 11-minute increase in video consumption, with 6 of those 11 minutes from TV-connected devices, according to Nielsen.

17. According to Forrester, users watch live video 10 to 20 times longer than on-demand content, making live streaming a powerful way to deliver interactive content.

Live Video Streaming Stats For Business

18. In 2018, brands spent more than $90 billion on video content. By 2023, that number is expected to rise to more than $100 billion.

19. Consumers spend almost 83 minutes per day consuming digital video, growing to 92 minutes by 2020, according to eMarketer’s most recent estimates.

20. According to Evercore, total video traffic is expected to grow at a 30% Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2017 to 2020, reinforcing the need for end-to-end video software services.

21. Globally, video traffic will comprise of 80% of all consumer internet traffic by 2021, according to Cisco.

22. A Forrester Research report found that financial services companies cut support time in half with video.

23. While video can help convert customers already on a path to purchase, it also enables a retailer’s existing customers to bring friends and family into the fold — 48% of consumers have shared a brand video on their social media profile.

24. According to the Mature Your Video Marketing to Drive Business Value report by 4C, nearly 80% of marketers recognize video (including TV, digital video, social video, and OTT video) as an increasingly important medium.

25. The Digital Entertainment Group found that consumer spending on subscription streaming grew 30% in the first nine months of 2018, projecting that consumers will have spent nearly $12.3 million on subscription streaming, or SVOD (subscription video-on-demand).

26. According to LinkedIn, video ads earn 30% more engagement than non-video ads.

27. LinkedIn members spend almost 3x more time watching video ads compared to time spent with static Sponsored Content.

28. In Q3 of 2018, ad views on live streaming grew 56%.

Live Video Streaming Stats For Communications

29. In Q1 of 2018, Twitter hosted 1,300 live streamed events, 80% of which streamed to a global audience.

30. Digital marketers expect to invest most in creating Instagram Stories (66%) and news feed videos (62%), according to the Mondo Creative & Digital Trends survey. B2B marketers prioritized newsfeed videos while B2C marketers emphasized Instagram stories.

31. According to RhythmOne’s 2018 annual Influencer Marketing Benchmarks Report, influencer marketing engagement is enhanced with video. The use of video in campaigns was up 2x over RhythmOne’s 2017 benchmark with a total of 139 videos created.

32. Consumers are 39% more likely to share content if it’s delivered through video.

33. The key phrase “Facebook live stream” saw a 330% increase in searches from 2016 to 2018.

34. According to Fidji Simo, Facebook’s head of video, 20% of all Facebook videos in 2017 were broadcast live and that the daily watch time for live videos quadrupled in the last year.

35. A 2018 State of the Sector report found that 78% believe that the video was an effective internal communications tool.

Streaming Video Consumption on the Rise

36. As of 2018, 80% of the population have reported using either a streaming service or an app to watch online video during an average week, per Nielsen.

37. Cisco’s Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast predicts that by 2022, 82% of all internet traffic will be video.

38. Video will make up 79% of all mobile traffic by 2022, says Cisco.

39. The 5G Economics of Entertainment Report commissioned by Intel forecasts that video could make up as much as 90% of all 5G traffic.

The OTT Boom

40. According to Hub’s 2018 Decoding the Default report, 36% of viewers reported that OTT or online video was the go-to source for entertainment, up from 29% in 2017.

41. OTT revenues, which include ad-led video on demand, pay-per-view and subscription video on demand, will grow from $37 billion in 2016 to reach $83.4 billion in five years’ time.

42. Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu alone are expected to triple their combined content investments by 2022.

43. Roughly 153 million Americans said they use OTT services in 2017. That number jumped 170 million in 2018, and is expected to reach 181 million in 2019, according to analytics site Statista.

44. In 2017, there were some 401 million OTT subscribers worldwide, with researcher IHS Markit forecasting 650 million by 2020.

45. The number of consumers getting their video programming from OTT subscriptions will grow over the next five years to more than 15.5 million U.S. subscribers by 2024, according to a new report from Concentric, a simulation software company.

46. In 2018, 76% of U.S. households used Netflix, while 67% used pay TV, according to “A New Video World Order,” a PwC report. In 2017, both were tied at 73%.

47. According to Verizon, OTT video services delivering average, poor-quality experiences are losing as much as 25% of their revenue.

All these streaming stats inspiring you to get started with live video for your business? Download our Ultimate Guide to Live Streaming to learn more, or try your hand at live streaming on Vimeo.