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

• In Event: Research Symposium - Session V

Abstract

Amidst new streaming services, rebranded streaming services, content moving from one platform to another, use of streaming services, or over-the-top, OTT services are at an all-time high. This study makes two contributions to our understanding of viewer behavior during these ever-changing media and ever-changing pandemic times. 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 had profound influences on viewing and subscribing behaviors among a quite desirable viewing demographic. Second, we 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 number of OTT subscriptions. Data reveal this population relying heavily on OTT services, primarily Netflix in the first 6 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 cancelled or cut cable subscriptions. While emotion regulation proved to be a non-significant factor in cable and OTT access, more frequently viewing sports, drama and comedy was associated with a greater number of OTT subscriptions, while more frequently viewing sports, news, and reality programming was associated with a greater likelihood of having cable television in the home.

Authors

• Bridget Rubenking, University of Central Florida

• Nicole Lewis, Indiana University

• Cheryl Bracken, Cleveland State University