In March of this year, a Nielsen survey – historically used to poll the viewing habits of network television audiences – was conducted regarding Netflix subscribers and their methods of accessing the service’s streaming movies and television shows. Surprisingly, to me at least, the results show that half of the audience got their Netflix fix via a gaming console of some sort.
Through online interviews with over 12,000 members, the Nielsen survey found the Wii to be king of Netflix streaming, with 25 percent of respondents claiming to have used the console’s app. The PlayStation 3 was cited as the second most popular gaming console to watch on demand movies and TV through the streaming service, with 13 percent of those surveyed said to be using Sony’s console. Bringing up the rear is the Xbox 360 with 12 percent of the streaming-to-console market, despite being the first gaming system to offer Netflix to users.
The big three gaming consoles don’t have a monopoly on the Netflix market just yet, though. 42 percent of those participating in the Nielsen survey said they still prefer to stream the content directly to their computer. The next most popular choice for watching the streaming content, besides the gaming console options, was to connect a television set to a computer; 14 percent of subscribers enjoyed the service that way.
What does that say about the streaming landscape? The Wii has a bigger install base? Microsoft hasn’t been successful in making the 360 an entertainment hub?
