According to Media Technology Monitor’s Fall 2021 Sneak Peek report, a majority of Canadians still pay for a traditional TV service, but streamers hold a bigger piece of the market.

The MTM measures Canadians’ media technology adoption and use at two points in time. In the fall, telephone interviews are conducted with 8,000 Canadians (4,000 anglophones and 4,000 francophones), and again in the spring with a telephone survey of 4,000 Canadians (2,000 anglophones and 2,000 francophones).

Top findings include the fact that despite all the new options available, for SVOD subscribers, Netflix (64%) is still their favourite service, followed by Amazon Prime Video (13%) and Disney+ (8%). They are also subscribing to more than one service. However, Canadians – both lower-income and affluent households – are concerned about the costs of media and technology subscriptions with nearly three in five voicing their concern.

The majority of Canadians (70%) continue to subscribe to a traditional TV service; however, SVODs now also hold a large piece of the market with 77% of Canadians subscribing. Racialized Canadians, newcomers, Indigenous Peoples and Canadians with disabilities are less likely to subscribe to a traditional TV service and more likely to have SVOD subscriptions.

Recommendations from friends and family (57%) are the most common way that Canadians are discovering new TV and video content. Personalized suggestions (41%) through algorithm-based software, social media (33%) and trailers/clips (32%) are among the top ways Canadians are discovering new content.

Gaming continues to play an important role in entertainment. More than half of online Canadians play some sort of video game. Game consoles are typically used by men more than women (30% vs 15%), although women are more likely to play games on a smartphone or tablet than men (66% vs. 35%). Gamers use tablets for gaming (75%) with 50% using them most often, followed by computers/laptops (48% and 26%), and game consoles (47% and 23%).