New research by Hub Entertainment Research highlights strong interest in streaming first-run movies by younger audiences. According to Hub’s new “Monetizing Video” study, 63% of 18-34 year olds said they would probably or definitely pay to stream a first-run movie.

Further, 18-34 year olds showed little price sensitivity in deciding whether to stream a first-run movie. When the price to stream the movie is set at $15, 67% said they would probably or definitely stream; at $20, 65% said they would probably or definitely stream and at $50, 57% said they would probably or definitely stream.

Hub characterized the responses as “young consumers seeing streaming as a way to satisfy their first-run movie fix” while movies theaters are closed or have restricted occupancy. Undoubtedly the percentage interested in streaming would decline if theaters were fully and safely re-opened, restoring this as a viable alternative.

Still, the survey highlighted the gap between younger and older audiences’ interest in streaming first-run movies. For consumers 35 year old or older, only 12% said they would probably stream a first-run movie, while just 2% said they would definitely do so.

The results come as the pandemic’s restrictions on theater openings continue. Studios and theater owners have publicly disputed release plans since Universal’s decision to make “Trolls World Tour” available for premium video-on-demand release in March, leading to an estimated 5 million purchases. However, the move went on to a successful though limited theatrical run.

Separate, Hub also found that streaming service dominated in perceived value for the money. 73% of Netflix subscribers said it was a good or excellent value, followed by Hulu and Disney+, each at 70% and Amazon Prime Video at 69%. At the other end of the spectrum, just 28% said they thought traditional pay-TV was a good or excellent value. Traditional pay-TV subscribers who don’t have any streaming service thought their pay-TV subscription should cost $69, though they’re actually spending $106 per month.

Download an excerpt of the research here.