BY SAM GUTELLE
As ComScore reported back in April, Netflix is the most popular streaming platform among cord-cutters, with 75 percent of over-the-top-enabled households tuning into the SVOD service on their respective TVs. But new data from the same company has revealed that, while Netflix is still king among OTT viewers, another platform can claim more engaged viewers.
ComScore’s latest update, shared by MarketingCharts, notes that the average “viewing day” for a typical Hulu household includes more than a half-hour of additional watch time compared to Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime households.
Netflix still accounts for more OTT viewing hours than all of the aforementioned services combined, but since there are more Netflix subscribers than Hulu subscribers, the latter platform is driving more engagement per OTT-enabled user. Among the consumers ComScore tracked, the average Hulu session lasted for 2.9 “hours per household per viewing day,” which put the online video industry’s green machine ahead of Netflix (2.2 hours), YouTube (2.1 hours), and Amazon Prime (2 hours).
Should Hulu begin to approach the level of American market saturation that Netflix boasts, its OTT watch time gap will likely shrink. But given how important engagement is within the online video world, Hulu should be pleased with the results of ComScore’s report.