Traditional and new subscription video on demand (SVOD) distributors who are seeking to acquire and retain consumers in an increasingly competitive market should focus on satisfying Black millennials who are its strongest consumers. That’s one of the results we found with our recent Streamlytics African-American Streaming Behavior Preview Report.

Streamlytics has not been the only company to note the influence Black millennials have on streaming. Back in 2016, Nielson’s report, “Young, Connected and Black: African-American Millennials Are Driving Social Change and Leading Digital Advancement”, noted African-American millennials spend about 12-and-a-half more hours per week than total millennials on video and TV streaming services – a total of 33 hours a week. Horowitz Research’s “FOCUS Black: The Media Landscape 2018” report found Black TV content viewers report watching an average of 6.9 hours of TV a day – higher than any other group – and nearly six in 10 Blacks pay for premium channels. Two-thirds of Black streamers told Horowtiz they watch more TV content than five years ago.

According to marketing research firm Viant, African-American millennials “lead the way … in the use of audio streaming services.”

That’s unsurprising since Black millennials are noted trendsetters in media consumption across platforms. In fact, the 2016 Nielson report noted that Black millennials are 25% more likely than all millennials to try new technology products. A later Nielson report said 73% of African Americans 13 and older identify as gamers compared to 66% of the total population. The same Viant survey observed African-American millennials have the highest smartphone ownership and usage of any demographic group as well as the most familiarity with messaging apps. In fact, marketing research across the board notes Black millennials are more tech-savvy and civically engaged than ever before and they use their significant and growing spending power on digital technology. 

To see what that means for subscription video on demand (SVOD) services, here are some of our key findings.

1. The outsized influence of African-American millennials on streaming

Millennials make up nearly a quarter of the total U.S. population. Of these, 14% of all millennials are Black. By 2045, Black Millennials will comprise 13% of the US population. It’s no secret, millennials are leading the streaming revolution. A 2015 survey by Atlanta-based video technology firm Clearleap found that a whopping 84.93% of respondents said they used a streaming service at some point in time. Tech-savvy Black millennials are especially adept at galvanizing digital platforms to communicate with each other and the world around them. 

2. African-American Millennials spend $7.3B on paid streaming services

• African-Americans millennials spend between $25 to $80 a month on streaming content, averaging $60 a month on consumption.
• Total Black spending on streaming comes to $613.2 Million a month. That represents $7.3 billion a year.
• African-American millennials have a spending power of $350 billion.

3. African-American millennial spending patterns: males v. females

• Female African-American Millennials are four times more likely than male African-American millennials to use streaming services (74% v. 22%).
• Females seem to be more tech-savvy than males when it comes it comes to streaming services, gravitating to SVOD platforms that are not only cheaper but also technically more appealing. For example, more females than males (82% vs. 18% ) gravitate to Amazon Prime, a platform that is not only more budget-friendly but that also offers far more benefits and features than competitors. At the same time, more males than females (51% vs. 49%) prefer the most expensive and least sophisticated YouTube option for streaming services.
• Since males dominate on the more expensive platforms, they spend more compared to females when it comes to streaming.

4. What African-American millennials spend on streaming

• African-American millennials spend more money streaming TV and movies than they do streaming music (73% v. 27%). 
• African-American millennials average $40 a month on streaming TV and movie content.
• African-American millennials average just over $20 a month on music streaming.

5. Which SVOD platforms do African-American millennials spend more on?

• The three most popular streaming media services are Netflix (87%) YouTube (52%) and Hulu (49%)
• The three least popular streaming media services are Pandora (28%), Tidal (13%) and Google Play for music (10%)

Conclusion

African-American millennials almost always seem to be ahead of the game when it comes to galvanizing social media and digital innovation, with (for example) their appetite for social networking and their willingness to try new technology. Their influence on streaming media services, or SVOD, is no exception. Many of the biggest trends in the media and technology space have invariably been led by African-American millennials. And it’s not just that: Research shows African-American millennial consumers have influence in spending power, too. A 2018 Nielsen Report report found Black millennials have a spending power of $1.3 trillion that is predicted to increase to $1.54 trillion by 2022. Much of this spending money is used for digital technology.

It makes sense, therefore, that as SVOD competition heats up, brands will want to learn more about their particular usage and consumption habits in order to increase sales among this particular group.

For access to more data like this contact Streamlytics here and ask about our African-American Streaming Behavior report.

This article was originally published by Streamlytics. It is reposted here with the permission of Angela Benton, CEO of Streamlytics.