Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Hulu to launch non-stop customer service as it readies live TV

The increased spending on customer service comes as Hulu is about to go head-to-head with internet channels that offer live TV from AT&T's DirecTVNow and Dish Network Corp's Sling TV.

The services have had hiccups - like shows freezing, viewers getting error messages and system crashes. Their owners also have large customer service staffs already handling calls from their traditional pay TV customers, said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates.

The stakes are high for Hulu, which has a customer defection rate of 50 percent, according to Parks Associates, a Dallas-based market research firm.

"Live TV is a challenge particularly for events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars which draw millions of subscribers all at the same time," Sappington said. "You are never sure what's going to break until you have a few million people watching at the same time."

From the article "Hulu to launch non-stop customer service as it readies live TV".

Previously In The News

Over 60% of Free Trial Users Will Pay for Service: Vimeo Report

For services considering offering a free trial, Vimeo says having an app is helpful. Potential customers are 33 percent more likely to sign up for a free trial through an app than through a website. S...

Half Of U.S. Homes Have Access To SVOD Services, Says Nielsen

That 50 percent figure gets a lot of play: In April 2015, Parks Associates reported that 50 percent of U.S. broadband-enabled homes had an SVOD subscription. In March 2016, NPD Group reported that 52...

Hulu Mounts Push To Draw And Keep Subscribers: Executive

Luring and keeping customers is becoming harder as the online streaming market gets more crowded and subscribers, freed from cable television's contract model, can cancel service with a click of the m...

OTT At A Tipping Point, Poised For Rapid Growth

Parks Associates estimates that 86 million streaming media players will be sold globally in 2019. And as streaming subscriber counts continue to grow, the services will be better positioned to bid for...