COVID-19, cord-cutting and coping: A snapshot of university students’ viewing behaviors

Bridget Rubenking, Nicky Lewis, Cheryl Campanella Bracken

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Amid new streaming services, rebranded streaming services, and content moving from one platform to another, the use of streaming services, or over-the-top (OTT) services is at an all-time high. This chapter makes two empirical contributions to our understanding of current viewer behavior. First, we provide a snapshot of how university students are accessing television content via a survey (N = 732) conducted in September 2020: six months into a pandemic that has had a profound influence on viewing and subscribing behaviors among a quite desirable viewing demographic. Second, the authors explore the influence of genre preference and a proclivity to regulate one’s emotions via television viewing on access to both cable television subscriptions and the number of OTT subscriptions. The data reveal that this population relied heavily on OTT services, primarily Netflix, in the first six months of the pandemic. While one in four participants started paying for a new OTT service and one in five began using a new OTT service via a friend’s login, only 1.6% started paying for cable television, and many more canceled or cut down cable subscriptions. Results are discussed in relation to the theoretical and practical implications of the ongoing streaming wars.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTriaging the Streaming Wars
Pages84-102
Number of pages19
ISBN (Electronic)9781000952018
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Robert Alan Brookey, Jason Phillips, and Timothy Pollard; individual chapters, the contributors.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Arts and Humanities
  • General Economics, Econometrics and Finance
  • General Business, Management and Accounting
  • General Social Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'COVID-19, cord-cutting and coping: A snapshot of university students’ viewing behaviors'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this