Netflix use in US tops DVR for the first time

For the first time, more US adults now report having Netflix in their home than a DVR, according to Leichtman Research.

The new study found that 54% US adults have Netflix, while 53% have a DVR. By comparison, in 2011 Netflix usage stood at just 28%, while DVR ownership was 44%.

“On-demand and time shifting TV services like DVR, VOD and Netflix have permanently changed the way that people can watch TV,” said Leichtman Research Group president and principal analyst, Bruce Leichtman.

“Today, over 50% of households have a DVR and, for the first time in the fifteen years of this study, over half of households have Netflix.

“Yet traditional TV viewing still exists. For example, 46% of adults agree that they often flip through channels to see what’s on TV.”

Overall, Leichtman said that 82% of US TV households have a DVR, get Netflix, or use video-on-demand from a cable or telco provider – with 30% of households using two of the services, and 14% using all three.

Some 64% of households were found to get a subscription video-on-demand service from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and/or Hulu, while 51% of all adults stream any of these services on a monthly basis

Among adult Netflix users, 23% now stream daily, compared to 6% in 2011, while 81% watch Netflix on a TV set.