Vividata’s Spring 2022 SCC/Digital Database shows that Canadians more likely to turn to streaming than linear for their video and TV needs.

The study shows that the popularity of video streaming continues to grow, with about 68% of Canadian adults now regularly using streaming services – paid or free – to watch TV and video, compared to 56% that regularly watch linear TV.

This is a switch from the previous year’s study, when 65% of Canadian adults favoured linear, versus 61% who preferred streaming.

On average, Canadian adults spend about 10 hours and 20 minutes a week streaming on any device. Nearly one hour and 45 minutes is spent on video streaming apps through mobile devices, with 18 to 24-year-olds spending almost an hour more than that on an average week.

More women (11%) than men (7%) visit a video streaming website or app daily in an average month.

The heaviest users of streaming services are those under 34, with 13% streaming daily and 28% streaming between 21 to 27 days a month. Although daily visits are less frequent, older Canadian adults are video streaming: of those over the age of 65, 40% stream one or two days a month and 32% three to 10 days.

The higher the household income, the more often video streaming websites or apps are visited. The average income of daily streamers is $86, 537, while those that visit one or two days a month report an average income of $72,016. Video streamers are also online shoppers with daily visitors spending 14% more than average shopping online.

In an average month, Netflix reaches 60% of total adults 18-plus on any device and 67% of adults 35 to 49. Looking just at mobile devices, YouTube is the leading streamer, reaching 44% of Canadians in an average month, growing to 57% among adults under 35. The Netflix mobile app is a distant second at 18% and the Amazon Prime Video app third at 6%.