The ongoing public debate continues to rage over whether Internet Service Providers are “throttling” Internet bandwidth to slow down streaming services like Netflix. Recently, Netflix seems to have quietly suggested that, in fact, they do not believe Verizon and others are deliberately slowing their streaming capabilities. Still, it appears that most US consumers have already made up their minds:
The chart below shows the results from a CivicScience survey of over 1,200 US adults between February 11th and 16th.
Even in the initial days of the public debate, the majority of consumers (at least those who considered themselves informed enough to have an opinion) squarely believed that Verizon and other ISPs were deliberately compromising Netflix’s performance. These opinionated respondents accused the ISPs of throttling by a rate of more than 4 to 1.
But the wave of public opinion didn’t stop there. After several days of public banter, the numbers moved further against the ISPs. Below is a second wave of CivicScience research, conducted in the past 4 days among 766 US adults.
These recent numbers show even more dramatic numbers. An additional 3% of consumers have formed an opinion on the matter, while those who believe the ISPs are throttling grew to 51% – more than 6 times the number of people who don’t believe Netflix has a gripe.
Whether the ISPs are in the wrong here is not our judgment to make. But it’s clear they have some work to do if they care what consumers think about the subject.