Asian Americans Lead Digital Engagement and Cord Cutting, Says Nielsen

By Audrey Cleo Yap

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Asian Americans are cutting the cord at a rate twice that of the total population; are 15 percent more likely to engage with news via social media; and 82 percent of AAPIs subscribe to at least one streaming service, according to a newly released report by Nielsen, “Engaging Asian American Consumers at the Dawn of a New Decade.” The report is part of Nielsen’s Diverse Intelligence Series.

Asian American households also spend significantly more time engaging digital devices, allotting 66 percent of their time on computers, smartphones and tablets, the highest ratio among all consumer segments. Asian Americans as a group are also engaging with TV on more devices that require an internet connection, like Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku — 49 percent versus 44 percent of the total population.

They are also increasingly turning to digital and streaming platforms where culturally relevant programming featuring diverse talent can be found: this includes episodic series and comedy specials with Asian American leads, like “Ugly Delicious” and “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj” on Netflix and “PEN15” on Hulu.

Asian Americans also have an outsized presence in the video games industry, particularly in the world of esports, where prominent figures and influencers tend to be of Asian descent; AAPI households are 14 percent more likely to own a gaming console than the total population.

There are 23.1 million AAPIs living in the U.S.; Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial segment, growing 46 percent in the last 10 years. As a group, the buying power of Asian Americans is projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2024, according to Nielsen.

Among the many ethnic groups under the AAPI umbrella, though, are some of the poorest in the nation: according to a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center, income inequality is greatest among Asians.