A new study by Roku and National Research Group found that streaming may be a more effective marketing tool for theatrical exhibition than social media or television. According to the research, 44 percent of what the survey categorizes as “moviegoing streamers” claim a trailer on a streaming service would increase their interest in seeing a film in a theater while 43 percent indicate the same of trailers on social media. These numbers slightly edged out the 41 percent who say ads on broadcast or cable TV would encourage them to visit a theater. However, it’s worth noting that the survey also suggests 72 percent pay more attention to TV commercials than ads on social platforms.

While the studios’ experimentation with streaming windows has triggered blowback from exhibitors, the survey makes a case that the medium may be helpful. The study comes as other media, notably TikTok, have released data suggesting their power to help get audiences into theaters.

Roku Senior Manager of Media & Entertainment Summer Salazar says in Variety that the survey “presents movie studios with a strong argument” to work with free, ad-based streaming platforms. Variety writes that the study, which queried 1,900 participants, indicates “streaming doesn’t automatically drive consumers away from movie theaters, as many assume.”

Advanced Television calls the research “an in-depth study of the moviegoing habits of streaming viewers” that finds “the consumers that spend the most time watching streaming content are also the ones who are most likely to see a movie in the cinema.”

Among the findings, “some 32 percent of high-frequency streamers (i.e. viewers who watch at least 20 hours of streaming content per week) report that they go to the cinema on a monthly basis, compared to only 27 percent of low-frequency streamers (i.e. viewers who watch under 10 hours of streaming content per week),” Advanced Television reports.

The Streamable reports that “61 percent of respondents to the study say that if movies are released in theaters and on streaming services at the same time, they’d prefer to go to the theater.” The top reasons for choosing a theater experience over streaming:

• Some movies need to be seen on the big screen (50 percent)
• I want to see a movie as a night out with friends, family, or on a date (46 percent)
• I enjoy the experience of going to the theater (46 percent)
• I want to treat myself (44 percent)
• The visual and audio quality is better in the theater (43 percent)

Meanwhile, a HarrisX poll from earlier this year offers a slightly different perspective, as reported by IndieWire, finding that only “34 percent of U.S. adults prefer to watch movies in theaters, which means a solid two-thirds would rather wait for them to be released on streaming.”