Hugh Scallon’s Post

Serial churn is becoming a prevalent trend in the US. The ease of subscription and cancellation, combined with the desire to only pay for what is actively watched explains such a trend. As a result, a quarter of US streaming subscribers, totaling over 29 million, have canceled three or more services in the past two years.  Key insights:  ·      40% of all new subscriptions and cancellations last year were from serial churners.  ·      The average monthly spending on streaming has increased from USD48 to USD61, reflecting higher service costs rather than more subscriptions.  ·      Streamers must reconsider their strategies and reintroduce promotions and some offerings to reduce churn rates.  Stabilizing streaming revenues is becoming increasingly hazardous and will significantly change how streamers structure their services and pricing strategies. Netflix seems to enjoy lower churn rates according to Data from Antenna. NAB Amplify #StreamingTV #SVOD #Subscription #Churn #ConsumerBehaviour

From #Mediavision After a period of slower growth, the Swedish streaming market is now experiencing a significant upswing. In the recently concluded third quarter, there were 600,000 new streaming subscriptions compared to the same period last year. The primary driver of this growth is the introduction of more affordable, ad-supported subscription options. This trend is highlighted in Mediavision’s latest analysis of the Swedish streaming market. Nearly 600,000 paid streaming subscriptions have been added in the past year, driven by Swedish households’ interest in more affordable, ad-supported options. These lower-cost subscriptions have seen rapid growth as more services introduce ad-based models. “The new, affordable subscriptions have gained substantial traction in Sweden this fall,” says Marie Nilsson, CEO of Mediavision. “It’s clear that many households find ad-supported, lower-priced options appealing.” As subscriptions become more affordable, households are increasingly subscribing to multiple services. Today, the average Swedish streaming household holds nearly three subscriptions—an all-time high and a significant increase from the same period last year. “While ad-supported subscriptions are on the rise, ad-free services still dominate the market,” Nilsson adds. “Currently, 90 percent of all subscriptions are ad-free or what is often referred to as premium. This includes all Netflix subscriptions in Sweden.” The analysis also reveals that most households adopting ad-supported plans already subscribe to at least one full-price service. Many are supplementing their existing subscriptions with these cheaper, ad-supported options. “Platforms like Viaplay, Max, Disney, and TV4 Play have recently introduced ad-supported tiers,” Nilsson notes. “We can see that this type of service is popular among consumers and is currently fueling strong growth. With lower prices, households feel they can afford more services. For the market as a whole, this is a positive sign after a relatively slow period over the past year.” #SVOD #HVOD #ott #streaming #Sweden #market #mediavision

Trying to replicate the Amazon Prime model with their new value propositions. To battle churn Entertainment companies such as streaming services seek for bundles. But it's not enough just to bundle more of the same, i.e. a collection of similar streaming services. You need to make combinations with a different type of subscription with a lower churn rate. Telcos and TV distributors have in the past been successful by bundling TV services with broadband and mobile subscription. Partnering streaming with grocery or delivery subscriptions would be an alternative that has proven to be successful in the case of Amazon Prime. #media #bundle #business

From the Journal: New data from subscription analytics provider Antenna offer a deeper look at the subscription pausing habits customers are developing as services like Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ become the go-to way of watching #TV in many households, instead of cable. The monthly median percentage of premium streaming video subscribers who rejoined the same service they had canceled within the prior year was 34.2% in the first nine months of 2024, up from 29.8% in 2022. The habit of pausing and resuming service means that the industrywide rate of customer defections, which has risen over the past year, is less pronounced than it appears. The average rate of U.S. customer cancellations among premium streaming video services reached 5.2% in August, but after factoring in re-subscribers, the rate of defections was lower at 3.5% The increasingly ingrained habit underscores the importance of streamers regularly delivering hit shows and #films as well as live fare such as sporting events. Streaming services are trying to use a mix of bundles, promotions, well-timed marketing emails and lower-cost ad-supported plans to lure customers back faster or help them feel they are getting enough value to stick around longer. Some services like Hulu make pausing easy with a drop-down list of the number of weeks a customer would like to pause, allowing them to select a hiatus of up to three months; Netflix also allows members to pause for up to three months. The Walt Disney Company+ will soon offer a new feature that lets users pause their subscriptions, a person familiar with its plans said. “A lot of customers won’t subscribe forever, but they will turn it on and off,” said Antenna CEO Jonathan Carson. Some 31% of U.S. HBO MAX TV customers have had two or more stints as a subscriber, a greater percentage than any other premium streaming service, while 29% of Apple TV + customers in the U.S. have had two or more stints as subscribers since 2020. Netflix has the highest number and share of customers in the U.S. who have only subscribed to the service once since then, according to Antenna. Gallagher, who tends to pay for more streaming services in the winter when there is less to do outside, similarly canceled an Apple TV+ membership after watching the documentary “The Dynasty: New England Patriots,” but suspects he will be back. “I keep an eye on my #streaming services because it’s death by a thousand paper cuts. I don’t want to get killed with monthlies,” he said. 

We're in the winter of streaming discontent. You've probably noticed that creeping feeling even more so now with your streaming subscriptions with rate hikes and hidden fees. The promise of being different than cable TV has fallen by the wayside. It was good while it lasted. For a while when Netflix was the main player in streaming town along with host of smaller, niche focused sidekicks. Over time, the company's success drew in legacy media companies including Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global, and Comcast into the space. That's also when things started spiraling downward for consumers. Just because you build it doesn't mean they'll come. Legacy companies have discovered the hard way that the cannibalization of their core entertainment business and high customer churn at the hands of streaming is real and financially devastating. Most of these legacy are losing money on their streaming ventures, while still stuck in catch-up mode to Netflix and let's not forget, YouTube. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The streaming space has turned into a beast of old school tactics. From cheaper, ad-supported models to platform bundles along with a crackdown on password sharing, we're seeing more changes focused on increasing profitability rather the value and experience for viewers. Consumers want variety but not multiple bills. Legacy media's entry fundamentally changed streaming and not for the better. Rather than doubling down on licensing agreements with Netflix, many pulled their content and opened their own lemonade stand. Unfortunately, that means if you want your Mickey, Bridgerton and Reacher, you're mostly dishing out for multiple subscriptions. And with live events and sports becoming a core focus, this will only get worse as competing sports media alliances force consumers to pick sides. Landing but failing to expand. Increasing churn points to missed opportunities. Experience matters, and right now, all these streaming are no different than the cable of old. Sports would seem to be an ideal starting point. They need to figure out to engage and interact with viewers similar to how YouTube does. That may be the only way to reduce churn, while convincing consumers to pay more https://lnkd.in/gnm3UMsv #streaming #subscription #netflix #youtube #media #consumers #television #digitalmedia #entertainment

The streaming wars have officially entered a new phase, shifting from platform-vs-platform competition to a battle over bundling. Now, the focus is on which combination of streaming and traditional cable bundles offers the most value. Consider these recent announcements: 📺 Comcast: As its legacy cable TV business declines, Comcast is launching StreamSaver next week. This package includes NBCUniversal’s Peacock Premium (with ads), Netflix Basic (with ads), and Apple TV+ at a discounted rate for TV and broadband customers. 📺 Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery: This summer, they are rolling out a triple-play bundle in the U.S. featuring Max, Disney+, and Hulu (pricing to be announced). 📺 Venu Sports: A joint venture by Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox Corp., plans to launch a sports-focused live-streaming bundle in fall 2024, pending regulatory approval. 📺 Paramount and Amazon: These companies are in early talks to offer a bundled version of their streaming services. Paramount, which owns Paramount+ and BET+, might bundle them via Amazon channels or with Amazon’s own services like Prime Video or MGM+. So, why are streaming services and traditional cable going bundle crazy? Bundles bring in more data, the currency of modern entertainment. They also allow companies to share marketing costs and target more demographics through ad-supported tiers. For consumers, bundles simplify billing and reduce costs—just like traditional cable used to do. I'm curious to hear from my network: What are your thoughts on the bundling wars? Are there any streaming bundles that have caught your eye or that you’ve chosen over others? Share your comments and thoughts below! https://lnkd.in/eUjEZ-P3

Verizon Losing Video Subs but Gaining with Streaming Bundles Telecom giant Verizon continues to report steady losses of video subscribers, losing roughly 60,000 per quarter. Despite these losses, however, the company’s other lines of business are doing well, boosted in part by it’s bundling of subscription video services. Similar to Charter, Verizon has been aggressive in its planning for a post-cable future, and is becoming a major distributor of bundled streaming services with a package of Netflix, Max, Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus for a deep discount versus subscribing to these services individually. Verizon has been gaining subs for its wireless phone, broadband, and wireless internet services, all of which it can promote along side its streaming bundle. As the pay TV providers of old become distributors of streaming video products instead, Verizon has an advantage in that it can offer those products nation-wide thanks to its wireless services, rather than only in areas it serves with wired infrastructure. https://lnkd.in/dQNeMmex

The consumer TV landscape will always be led by the consumer, and as William Ullstein highlights in this analysis from YouGov, consumers are feeling the pinch from a fragmented market for content. As UK consumers chase affordable content, marketers, and their media agencies will chase key audiences to show them advertising messages in a medium that works - TV. (plenty of simple and straight-forward evidence on Thinkbox) TV planners in the UK have always been good at defining the best audiences to buy their clients current or future customers, but it is now harder to reach them, and the choice of audience targeting has increased. So how is the industry making it easier to connect the right audience to the right TV inventory? We are expecting the companies that make it easier to collaborate will help. Data collaboration is the new toolset. If you are interested in learning how UK brands are activating their audiences on Sky Media UK, or how Disney Advertising is using LiveRamp's Habu, or how NBCU Advertising & Partnerships is collaborating with brands on the Google Stack, feel free to ask! https://lnkd.in/en9WRCXV

Two recent reports delineate the challenge not only for marketers trying to manage Reach and Frequency across streaming platforms, but also for the streamers themselves. We all know that subscription fatigue and cost have become issues with consumers. A recent Hub Entertainment study highlights that 85% of ad-free streaming subscribers are likely to maintain those services in a year V. 74% for ad-free. The study hypothesizes that ad-free subs are “stickier” than ad-supported. Consumers The then seems to contradict themselves by reporting that price and content are their two main factors, and that they “are ‘maxed out’ when it comes to the overall cost of TV,” with respondents stating that the maximum payment for all “TV content” is $87. Since the CPA for new subscribers is growing as the pool of new subscribers is shrinking, streamers are turning toward bundling. According to Ampere Analysis, there is little overlap between services in the bundles being considered by streamers (it sites Disney [Disney+, HULU, & Max] and NBCU [Peacock, Netflix, & Apple TV]).  This is a tool for retention to address the ad-free/ad-supported churn—create value (AKA, “more for less”). Ampere’s proof-point is that “59% are less likely to 'churn' -- or opt out of -- that bundle within 12 months than those that take Disney+ alone.” Unfortunately, this does not address churn as Ampere deems “a huge chunk of streaming subscribers are ‘re-subscribers,’ (42%), and it states, “the problem of re-subscribers is that heavy TV users are 40% more likely to experience ‘subscription fatigue.’” The 59% are also dubbed the dreaded subscribers who “regularly subscribe, cancel, and resubscribe.” These reports still support the case that brands need to focus on the streamers that are truly investing in content to make their platforms relevant in order to leverage the “stickiness” of the format. Having a thousand channels with “nothing on” serves no purpose. It definitely raises the question of when consolidation will become accelerated. Check out further detail: https://lnkd.in/eW7g42QQ https://lnkd.in/esgGEcVr #streaming, #Ampere, #Hub Entertainment

Comcast's recent announcement of the StreamSaver #bundle with Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV + , marks a significant step forward toward "Cable 2.0" in the streaming industry - where streaming wars are moving from platform vs. platform, to bundle vs. bundle. The new offering, set to launch next week, packages Peacock's ad-supported premium tier with Netflix's basic ad tier and Apple TV+ for $15 a month, yielding savings of around 35% compared to subscribing to these services separately. Bundling provides consumers with a comprehensive entertainment package at a more manageable price, addressing the financial constraints many face when choosing between multiple streaming services. This approach mirrors the traditional cable bundles, making it easier for consumers to access a wide range of content. Media companies are under pressure from investors to scale their streaming services and achieve profitability, while also facing stiff competition from tech giants like Amazon and YouTube. These proposed ‘mini bundles’ not only offer a more reliable revenue stream for companies but also helps mitigate the issue of subscriber churn, which has been a persistent challenge in the industry. The entertainment industry is in a transition, with rising content costs and market saturation driving prices higher. Bundling services not only provides a more reliable revenue stream for companies but also helps stabilize the market by offering consumers more value. Unfortunately, this also means the end of the ad-free, a la carte offerings that many consumers have come to enjoy, as the focus shifts towards comprehensive bundles that limit flexibility but enhance overall value. #LITrendingTopics #StreamingWars #Bundling #SubscriberChurn https://lnkd.in/esZpwnEJ