It should not be surprizing to The Broadcast Bridge readers that the under 35-year-old viewers do not watch TV like their parents. And, also unlike their parents, millennials increasing look to cutting the cord on cable.

These are only two key points supported in a new "State of Online Video Study"from Limelight Networks, a content delivery network headquartered in Tempe, Arizona. The study, written by Jason Thibeault, Limelight’s senior director of marketing strategy, found that while most television is still viewed on traditional networks, change is well underway.

“What surprised us is the proclivity for viewers to cut the cord,” said Thibeault. “While we already know that more people are watching online video, we were surprised by how many people said they would give up their pay TV subscription service for something else. That willingness to cut the cord came from about 90 percent of the people surveyed.”

The overwhelming reason most viewers would cut the cord is rising pay television prices, the report found. “Among younger millennials (under 25-years-old) the proclivity to cut the cord is higher.”

What is abundantly clear, the report found, is that “we are witnessing a tipping point in the traditional television experience as younger generations skew towards watching more online video, using more OTT (over-the-top) services and posting video to more places.”

Millennials range in age from 18 to 34, while younger millennials are aged 18 to 25. It is primarily these groups who are driving the change to online viewing. This trend raises major questions for the future of both pay television services and over-the-air broadcast television.

“This is a long-term evolution for broadcast television,” Thibeault said. “It’s not something that’s going to change tomorrow. What our study shows is we are starting to see the ball roll down the hill.

“I think there is an opportunity for (traditional) broadcasters here. I don’t think they need to run for the hills because the sky is falling. I think they need to look at how they are offering their bundles to their viewers. Rather than give them an ‘all you can eat model,’ they need to start exploring skinny and à la carte bundles. They need to figure out a way to personalize the service so the younger audience finds a reason to stay.”

An advantage is traditional television, Thibeault said, provides viewers with broadcast quality video, while online video is not guaranteed such high quality. Poor Wi-Fi or LTE connections can degrade video quality. “If TV providers could continue to give viewers broadcast quality, but do it in a more personalized manner, they might actually win out in the end,” he said.

Of course, in the United States, over-the-air broadcasters will soon have to make a decision of whether to compete in this changing business landscape or sell their spectrum in the FCC spectrum auctions. The decision for many broadcasters is expected to be difficult.

The study found that the new generation of millennial viewers demand a variety of content and want to watch television anywhere, anytime on a range of portable devices. Too much video buffering can drive viewers away. Advertising is a major issue as well. For ads to be successful, they must be personalized to each viewer and skippable for those who don’t want to watch.

As online advertising increases, the report found it is becoming more critical for content owners to understand user behavior in order to improve the chances that viewers will watch more of the video and, as a result, engage with the advertising.

Although about 60 percent of the participants in the Limelight survey found advertising in online video disruptive, nearly 71 percent were okay with it as long as they could skip it. Forty-two percent indicated it was fine so long as the advertising was personalized.

All of these numbers jumped up slightly as the demographic skewed younger — for millennials, 73 percent wanted to be able to skip it, while about 42 percent wanted it personalized.

“If you do pre-roll advertising at the beginning of online video and don’t allow the viewer to skip the ad, you have a greater chance of the viewer exiting out of the video,” Thibeault said.

The type of viewing device is also important in determining what video is watched at a given location. While the personal computer is still the dominant device used to view online video and most watch long form television programs or movies, portable devices — especially smartphones — are being used more frequently by young people. In fact, the younger the viewer, the more devices he or she owns.

Though the study did not explore this question, Thibeault believes the device is related to the kinds of content people want to watch on it. “There has to be a causal relationship between the devices and the kind of content,” he said. “That’s something we need to study more in depth in future surveys.”

Finally, online video isn’t simply about viewing, it’s also about sharing. Social media is driving sharing, especially among young people. When asked how likely they were to share online video, almost 50 percent of respondents indicated that they either currently do or would consider sharing video on social media sites.

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Vine and Instagram are used for sharing much more than the dedicated video sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Facebook grew by a few percentage points, while Instagram, Vine and Pinterest nearly doubled in usage as the millennials’ preferred destination for posting online videos.

Many millennials are getting their news from these social media sites. “The news brands are starting to recognize this and are starting to push a lot of content through these channels,” Thibeault said. “These millennials don’t watch the six o'clock news at all.”

This is the first such online video survey conducted by Limelight. Thibeault noted that with the changes now occurring, the company plans to do future reports either annually or biannually.

“Millennials are embracing online video as the primary means by which to consume and share content and are, by that nature, driving significant change in the way that everyone experiences traditional broadcast television,” the report said.

“It will be interesting to see, over the next decade, how prevalent these behaviors become in subsequent generations and the impact they have on behaviors outside of those generations that already embrace this new experience.”

The Limelight Networks survey was conducted over five-days with 1,206 participants ranging in demographics, gender and education in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.