The covid-19 pandemic and other subsequent circumstances saw a rise in online streaming websites and platforms. From Netflix to YouTube TV and many others, people now prefer to stay in, relax, and ‘stream’ online. As such, live streaming is seen increasing these days for multiple reasons especially influencers, gamers, and entertainers.

Thus, Real Research conducted an online survey about live streaming services, to understand respondents’ opinions on live streaming preferences. Specifically, about various live streaming platforms, the amount of time spent, and the kind of content viewed. Here are the results.

Highlights

  • 33.98% prefer ‘real-time news’ on live streaming services
  • 29.85% believe the content shared drives more views on live streaming services
  • 46.44% say content-creators/live streamers own the copyright to live-streamed content

77.48% Of Respondents Have Watched Broadcasted Live Streams

live streams
Figure 1: Respondents on whether having watched live streams

First, the survey asked respondents whether they have watched live streams on a live streaming service. More than three-quarters (77.48%) say ‘yes’ and 22.52% say ‘no’. Next, regarding whether respondents have live-streamed, 47.26% say ‘yes’, and 52.74% say ‘no’.

Next, the survey wished to know the type of content respondents prefer to watch on live streaming services. To this, 33.98% prefer ‘real-time news’, while 11.39% ‘gaming content’. Meanwhile, 9.25% prefer ‘Celebrity content’ and 8.61% prefer ‘Sporting events’. Whereas, 4.15% prefer to stream ‘Influencer content’, 4.12% ‘Live events’, and 9.33% do not watch live streaming services. 

Furthermore, the survey asked which real-time event respondents prefer to watch on live streaming services. 26.00% say ‘product launches’ while 18.34% prefer ‘event launches’, and 9.65% say ‘conference presentations’. Moreover, 6.37% say ‘podcasting’ and 11.20% do not use live streaming services.

The survey also asks respondents how much time they spend live streaming content per day. To this, 42.89% say ‘less than 3 hours’ whereas 26.41% say ‘Every hour’. Adding on, 9.49% say ‘less than 5 hours per day’, 4.64% spend ‘more than 5 hours a day’, and 16.57% do not watch live streaming content.

The Majority of Respondents Use ‘YouTube TV’

streaming platform preferences
Figure 2: Respondents’ live streaming platform preferences

Adding to this, the survey asked what live streaming platforms respondents have used the most. To this, 44% said Youtube TV, whereas, 12.71% say ‘Instagram Live’, and 10.50% said ‘Facebook Live’. Likewise, 5.34% said ‘Twitch’, 2.55% ‘YouTube Gaming’, and 10.64% said they do not use live streaming services.

The survey proceeded to ask the type of live streaming respondents uses the most. All of 32.32% say ‘HD/4K/HDR video’ while 21.05% say ‘gaming’, and 14.98% say ‘audio streaming’. However, 13.59% do not use live streaming services.

Next, the survey asked respondents what they think drives more views on live streaming services. The majority (29.85%) say ‘the content’ and 21.44% say ‘the person live streaming’. Moreover, 11.14% say ‘the production quality of content’ and 6.17% say ‘accessibility of the live streaming platform’.

51.04% Of Respondents Prefer Advertisements in Live Streaming Services

Meanwhile, the survey asked respondents whether they have sponsored any live streamers. To this, 39.67% say ‘yes’, and 60.33% say ‘no’.

advertisements on live streaming services
Figure 3: Respondents on advertisements on live streaming services

Further on, respondents were also asked about their preference for advertisements in live streaming services. In reply, 51.04% say ‘yes’, while 48.96% say ‘no’. Following after, the survey asks who respondents think owns the copyright to uploaded live-streamed content. To this, 46.44% say ‘live streamers/content creators’, while 11.52% believe ‘viewers/fan’, 8.86% ‘live streaming platform’, and 2.91% say ‘advertisers’.

When it came to placing age restrictions on live streaming services, 51.58% sayl ‘yes, each content should have an age restriction’. Meanwhile, 20.22% suggest ‘no’ as they believe the internet itself is open-source to various content. This leaves 28.20% that are ‘unsure’.

Next, the survey asks what the most important features are when live streaming. The majority (36.94%) suggest ‘variety of streaming options on platform’, whereas 18.65% say ‘low advertisements’. Then, 6.91% say ‘multiple subscription packages’ and 4.46% suggest ‘exclusive engagement features for content creators’. Meanwhile, 3.36% say a ‘real-time captioning feed’ and 2.34% say ‘exclusive engagement features for users’.

To conclude, the survey asked why live streaming is important. All of 36.42% say ‘people can easily reach a larger audience’ and 17.47% say it offers ‘real-time information’. Likewise, 10.70% suggest genuineness as ‘nothing is scripted’, while 5.98% say that live videos ‘create a sense of excitement’.

Methodology

 
Survey TitleSurvey on Live Streaming Services
DurationDecember 07 – December 14, 2021
Number of Participants50,000
DemographicsMales and females, aged 21 to 99
Participating Countries Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong) China (Macao), China (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Greanada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Maldives, Maluritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar [Burma], Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.