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Video consumption through digital means is reaching unprecedented levels.

Nielsen has released its Q1 2016 Total Audience Report, which breaks down U.S. consumers' usage of both traditional and digital devices when watching television. And perhaps the most significant finding of the entire report is that the availability of subscription video on-demand (SVOD) services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime in homes now equals DVR penetration.

Both are present in about 50% of U.S. homes, which is a significant milestone for the growth of digital platforms in television viewing habits. Moreover, SVOD is set to surpass DVR, as the latter's growth has plateaued while the former's has increased one to three percentage points per quarter since Q4 2014.

Competition among SVOD companies will only increase as penetration goes up, so the different companies must distinguish themselves with different price points and content offerings.

Traditional media still has a greater reach than digital, but smartphones are starting to close the gap. AM and FM radio amazingly still has the highest number of adult users per month at approximately 240 million, while traditional TV places second at 226 million. Smartphone is moving closer with 191 million monthly adult users, and PC usage sits at 162 million. Digital usage is also clearly mobile first, a fact video creators and SVOD companies must keep in mind as they release products and content.

Digital media consumption is also concentrated among the most habitual users, as the top 20% of users on digital platforms represented more than 75% of total minutes of time spend. The top 20% of users on traditional media only account for about half of total time spend.

Specifically, 83% of video viewing on smartphones and 87% on PCs is done by just 20% of all users. This demonstrates the importance of effectively targeting this segment of users when marketing digital video content and services. The data also shows that digital video is on the rise, but it's still limited to one portion of the audience and has room to grow in the mainstream.

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