DIRECTV NOW — StatSocial’s Guide to OTT Network Audiences

(Be sure to check out this series’ introductory entry here.)

DIRECTV NOW — StatSocial’s Guide to OTT Network Audiences

(Be sure to check out this series’ introductory entry here .)

AT&T , owner of the popular satellite TV service, DirecTV , has entered the live-streaming fray with DirecTV NOW, t heir own internet TV streaming service. The cheapest of their four plans — currently ranging in cost from $35 to $70 a month — boasts over 60 live channels (which, in keeping with our sports discussion here, includes ESPN ). In 99 of the country’s major markets all packages also include network affiliated (or owned and operated) channels for all four major networks. Another of the oft mentioned perks of their service is the ability to add HBO and Cinemax to your subscription for an additional $5 a month, each.

The first step of what could prove to be the biggest sports coup for not only DirecTV Now , but possibly for any competitor in the OTT sector to date, has very recently been announced. In select markets to start, the ‘NFL Sunday Ticket’ package the DirecTV service has made available over satellite for some time will be made available to DirecTV Now subscribers . It’s not a universally available offer, but various teams, and the league itself, has lucrative and long-term contracts in many regions. It seems that AT&T intends to, eventually, make the package available to all DirecTV Now subscribers.

Right now ‘ NFL Sunday Ticket ’ is available to DirecTV Now subscribers in the correct zip codes in the Greater Los Angeles, Phoenix. Boston, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Hartford, and Louisville areas.

AT&T has received acclaim for original series on its Audience channel, such as the crime-thriller, Stephen King adaptation ‘ Mr. Mercedes ,’ and the Peter Farrelly (of the Farrelly Brothers) co-created and directed, Ron Livingston starring, ‘ Loudermilk .’ Once partnering with NBC for much of their content, AT&T has gained quite a bit of experience in the scripted series realm.

DirecTV Now is growing rapidly, seemingly at a faster rate than many if not even most of its stiffest competitors. The service added 342,000 subscribers during the quarter ending just this past June 30 (2018) . They are definitely starting to stand out a bit from the pack as a player to which those keeping score will want to be paying attention.

The Basic Demos:

SEX

An explanation of how to read this chart, and all such charts you’ll find on the StatSocial platform: The bar in blue, and the percentage within, represents the social media audience being analyzed (in this case, fans of DirecTV Now). The bar in grey, and the percentage within, represents the baseline. For these entries, that is the average American social media audience. The index score to the right represents the degree to which the corresponding statistic for this audience is either in line with, exceeds, or falls short of the baseline. Index scores consistent with or greater than the baseline are in green, and those that are under-indexed are in red.

A strong male presence, over-indexed to an extent approaching one-and-one-third times greater than the baseline.

INCOME

Those earning $50k or less annually are slightly less likely to be found among the DirecTV Now audience than they are the average audience. Those earning $100,000 a year or more, however, are present among this crowd to a not insignificant 4% greater extent.

AGE

Those ages 18 to 24 are represented among this group by a proportion nearly 8% smaller than the average. Ages 35 and up, however, are present here to a noteworthy extent in excess of the baseline.

BRANDS

Consumer electronics Big Box king, Best Buy , is the brand that finds affinity among this audience to the greatest degree in excess of what would be typical among the average U.S. social media audience. More prevalent among this group by three-and-one-fifth times.

Diving all the way to the list’s bottom, we see the multi-billion dollar Hollywood behemoth that is Marvel Entertainment . A feather in Disney’ s cap as great as any of the many that have festooned their cap (with the big ears) for decades. They find fans here to a degree exceeding the baseline by very nearly two times.

TV SHOWS

Sports fandom among this audience really begins to reveal itself here in a somewhat decisive way. ESPN ’s magazine shows, ‘E:60’ and ‘Outside the Lines’ are both present, and find fans among this audience to extents 14 to 15 times in excess of the average. NBC ’s NFL and NASCAR broadcasting is also strongly represented here. Finally, in so far as sports are concerned, HBO ’s Duane Johnson starring, comedy-drama ‘Ballers’ — about a former football pro who becomes a financial manager to NFL players (with many cameos from real NFL stars past and present) — finds fans here to a degree over 15 ½ times greater than the average.

SPORTS TEAMS

Notable among the OTT audiences we’ve surveyed elsewhere in this series, only one soccer team is to be found on this list (and their fans are found among this group to a degree a touch below the average American social media audience).

STATSOCIAL CLUSTERS

As you’ll find elsewhere on the StatSocial site , we explain StatSocial Clusters with the words below:

About StatSocial Clusters
Our data scientists have modeled the entire US population into 200 unique clusters. Using billions of inputs for over 120M US consumers, we have segmented naturally occurring population clusters across distinct demographic and household types, personality traits provided by IBM Watson, combined with people’s passions, which we have sourced from their social activities online. For those familiar with traditional clustering models such as PRIZM, Personicx, Mosaic, and Tapestry, we believe this layer of social behaviors, which only StatSocial can offer, provides the richest possible insights into what motivates different types of people. We think you’re going to love the context our cluster analysis will provide.

You can click through here to read our descriptions of all 200 unique segments.

Here are the Clusters most highly indexed among the Hulu Live TV audience in contrast to the average American social media crowd:

From the above linked to page , here are the descriptions of each Cluster :

  1. La Liga Believas (those belonging to this Cluster occur here to a degree comfortably exceeding the baseline by nine-and-a-quarter times)
    Spain’s most competitive pro football league, Primera División, or what’s simply known as La Liga, has a profound international profile. This, especially for playing in such a comparably small country. When you can attract the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi to your league — players so famous that even Americans who couldn’t care less know who they are — people will pay attention. When their season is underway, they can dominate American Twitter trends. Those driving those trends are probably in this cluster. IBM Watson’s Personality Insights® observes that the Agreeable and outgoing are only to be found here in paltry quantities. The Conscientious, however, are abundant.
  2. Latin American Zealots (those belonging to this Cluster occur here to a degree greater than the average U.S. social media Audience by over seven times)
    This group of 30-something urban-dwellers, 69% female, and in their 30s, share affinities for an eclectic mix of singers, TV personalities, actors, and even illustrators. The folks they admire hail from places as geographically diverse as Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Guatemala. What the objects of their affection share, though, is they are all celebrities from Spanish speaking, Latin American countries. Our data in marriage with IBM Watson’s Personality Insights® tool has been able to determine this group is Open to new experiences to a degree well exceeding the average. While not at all Neurotic, they are also even less Agreeable and Conscientious.
  3. The Sports Must Be Reported (those belonging to this Cluster occur here to a degree exceeding the baseline by comfortably over five-and-one-third times)
    This is a group of mostly men, residing in rural areas, or at least the most distant suburbs, they are in their late-30s and early-40s, and they love to read about sports in the paper or online, and watch them be dissected, analyzed, debated, or simply reported on the TV. Not terribly outgoing, they are even less Agreeable. On the other hand, IBM Watson’s Personality Insights® adds that they’re not particularly Neurotic and they are Open to new experiences. So bring on ESPN-3D or even ESPN VR, as we know just the fellas who will be open to trying it out.
  4. Windows, Wins Though (those belonging to this Cluster occur here to a degree exceeding the baseline by exactly five-and-one-fifth times)
    Distantly suburban, bordering on rural, this group — 54% of whom are male — are in their mid-30s-to-early-40s. Enthusiastic about their technology, they forego the cult of Apple. It’s all Windows and Androids with this crowd. IBM Watson’s Personality Insights® tells us they’re less Neurotic than the average, and the outgoing would be found among this group to an even lesser degree. They are, though, notably Conscientious. Their shared affinities literally include Microsoft, Windows, T-Mobile, Samsung, Android, straight up just “computer and video games,” and so forth. They’re about their tech heavily, but they’re not elitist about it. Refreshing, really.
  5. Food Court Cult (those belonging to this Cluster occur here to a degree very close to the three-and-two-thirds times)
    Far outside of the city there exists a group, consisting of 69% women, in their late-30s-to-early-40s, who are least of all Open to new experiences, and most of all Agreeable. This, of course, according to our data when looked at through IBM Watson’s Personality Insights® tool. Where this lot may be prone to excess would be in the areas of salts, carbohydrates, and saturated fats. Even if it’s the increasingly common healthy alternative menu items they favor, though, this crew is bound by a love of the restaurant chains dotting roadside America (and frankly many of the rest of the world’s roadsides), and these franchises quickly and/or ready prepared, relatively affordable meals.
  6. Rustic Rasslin’ (those belonging to this Cluster occur here to a degree exceeding the baseline to a degree roughly approaching three-and-two-thirds times)
    This assortment of largely dudes in their 20s and 30s enjoy what Vince McMahon, Jr. came to rebrand as “sports entertainment.” But you and we, and we’d bet most of those in this bunch, still call it good ol’ professional wrestling. Era-wise, they seem partial to wrestling from the 90s’ “Attitude Era” to the current day. Neurotic as they are outgoing, and neither to an especially excessive degree, IBM Watson’s Personality Insights® shows all other traits as not being dominant at all. What dominates is a love of men in tights grappling, with a storyline of intrigue and betrayal providing a backdrop for it all.
  7. Hoooray for Hollywood (those belonging to this Cluster occur here to to a degree 3.60 times in excess of the baseline)
    City-dwellers, 60% female, and in their late-30s-to-early-40s. Their mutual affinities are not specific filmmakers or films, but instead the many film studios and production companies dotting the Hollywood landscape (meaning, Universal, Paramount, etc.). IBM Watson’s Personality Insights® says fewer Agreeable and outgoing types are to be found here. In addition to loving those who spend the big bucks to bring us entertainment all year, they are also quite pronouncedly not Neurotic. This suggests they are not actors, screenwriters, filmmakers, producers, or in any way involved in film production. But who’s to say? They are a Conscientious crew, and notably Open to new experiences.

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Viewers of YouTube ’s Indian news channel NDTV will be found roaming among this crew to a degree exceeding the baseline by 20 times. Fans of the channel for Belgian the born DJ / producer Thivaios brothers (they’re of Greek heritage, as their surname suggests), best known as Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike, are present among this audience to a degree approaching 17 times what you’d find among the average American social media audience.

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Watch this space, as this survey of the platforms most eager to get you cutting that cord has more to come.

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