TO: Video Team

FROM: Zachary Kingham-Seagle

SUBJECT: Video Focus Group Report
DATE: January 10, 2016

Here is my report on a focus group I ran with four college age men and two women in
their early thirties. This was a discussion based around cord cutting and how the
participants use new online video services in place of television or if they do at all. The
biggest question to answer is what is the difference between men and women.

Focus Group Rationale

People are trading in traditional TV services for streaming services. Streaming services
offer mobility, customization, and minimize advertisements all at a lower price. Our team
wished to find out how extensive this trend is among millennials and whether there is a
gender difference in cord cutters. Information from these sessions will allow Proximity
clients to determine whether the shift to streaming is driven by conventional gender
stereotypes.

Setting and Participants

The session lasted approximately forty-five minutes and was held in my cousin’s house
on Saturday, January 9, 2016. The participants were:
● Marsha, 33, a stay at home mother currently attending college
● Mary, 31, a government worker and college-grad
● Joe, 23, a college student
● Mark, 22, a college student
● Quin, 22, a dishwasher and college-grad

Session Topics
History of video service use
All the participants had some form of cable or still do. Around 2010 every single
participant got Netflix or their parents did. Here is a breakdown of the video services
each participant currently uses:
● Quin: Parents’ Netflix
● Mark: Parents’ Netflix and Amazon Prime
● Joe: Parents’ Netflix and Amazon Prime
● Marsha: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, and Comcast
● Mary: Has Netflix and Amazon Prime but never uses them
Portability
A big reason for why the guys use the service is because they can watch anywhere. Joe
said that “I can sit on my futon facing the ceiling and still watch on my tablet between
my legs”. This is a bit of an exaggeration but what he is saying was a sentiment shared
by all that you don’t have to face a stationary TV screen.

Binge watching and non-set start times

All the participants, save for Mary, admitted to watching television shows in bulk.
Marsha said that when she stayed home from school one day that she: “watched a
season of Supernatural”. This phenomenon points to the ability to watch shows
whenever you want on streaming services like Netflix. This is something that is
becoming more possible with services like Comcast but you now have to watch
advertisements or pay for a DVR.

Advertisements
This was a pretty big plus across the board for why everyone liked Netflix. There were
mixed reactions when I suggested a cheaper service but with adds. Since everyone was
financially comfortable or “mooching” off their parents, the need for a cheaper service
wasn’t necessary. Joe thought the presence of ads would be “depressing”.

Findings

It seemed to me that the biggest cause for the guys’ use of video streaming services
was that they were free and portable. For the more settled ladies this wasn’t the
concern.Although Marsha did mention her husband liked the TV for sports viewing
purposes.

Since money was not a big issue it is hard to know what would have been said by
participants if they could not mooch off their parents. Likely ads would appeal to them
then and this could potentially be a way to work into the market.