38% of viewers both stream and watch traditional TV

Amid all the talk about the shift of viewing from traditional TV to streaming, Samsung Ads has identified an important new viewer who consumes video both ways, which it has dubbed The Total TV Watcher.

Samsung TV said that 68% of households that own Samsung smart TVs stream video, nearly as many as the 70% who still watch via cable and satellite.

The newly identified group of Total TV Watchers make up 38% of the audience, according to Samsung TV.

Total TV watchers consume six hours and 44 minutes of TV per day, or 15% more than people who watch only through traditional connections (5:22) and 26% more than cord-cutters (4:58).

“The industry is at a key inflection point and this balance isn’t likely to last,” said Tom Fochetta, VP, Samsung Ads. “It’s time to re-examine the way advertisers, content producers and publishers view TV audiences, moving beyond cord-cutters and traditional viewers. The combination of traditional and streaming content is a powerful one, and is presenting new opportunities to reach consumers on the household’s biggest screen.”

Compared to the average U.S. household, Total TV Watchers are 56% more likely to earn $175,000 or more per year and are 65% more likely to have a young adult in their household.

The are also big spenders, with 70% of them more likely to be in the 20% in terms of online spending and 50% more likely to be in the top 20% for offline spending.

People who own Samsung smart TV do 85% of their streaming directly through the TV and are 60% less likely to use an external streaming device. They are also less likely to plug into a cable box, opting for virtual MVPDs instead.

“Smart TVs offer unprecedented amounts of control and connection for all types of TV consumers, helping to create new ways of accessing, curating, and viewing content,” said Cathy Oh, global head of marketing & analytics, Samsung Ads.

The study was based on an analysis of media consumption during February 2019 on 20 million opted-in devices in the U.S.