Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

OTT churn increases in US during pandemic

According to Parks Associates, an increasing number of US broadband households cancelled at least one OTT subscription in the early part of the year, with a significant number also utilising the free trials offered by streamers during the coronavirus pandemic.

More than two in five households have tried out an OTT service’s free trial during the crisis, with 8% trialling four or more.

Of households that signed up to a service during the pandemic, 49% subscribed to Disney+ and 27% subscribed to Apple TV+ – the two best performers.

The report also raises questions about whether subscribers will keep these services with shelter-in-place rules being relaxed, in spite of a growing number of COVID-19 cases in many states. It notes that maintaining subscribers may be difficult for platforms which rely on original programming – much of which will have been affected by delays to production.

Steve Nason, research director at Parks Associates, said: “We are seeing a record number of consumers experiment with new OTT services as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the shifts in strategy in the industry.OTT services are offering extended free trials to build up engagement, and 8% of US broadband households report they have subscribed to at least one new OTT service since the COVID-19 crisis began.

“The industry is working on new hybrid content strategies as a result of production halts. Major players like AT&T for Warner Brothers and Comcast for Universal Studios are greatly concerned about the delays in content production on the launches of new services, like HBO Max and Peacock. Free trials will bring in new subscribers at the launch, and roughly seven in ten have subscribed to at least one OTT service they have trialed. OTT services need to be creative in building an engaging service, but during this time of heavy video consumption, OTT services have the opportunity like never before to win over new video consumers and retain them as long-term subscribers.”

From the article "OTT churn increases in US during pandemic" by Jonathan Easton.

Previously In The News

Streaming is heading toward a breaking point with consumers

However, while work on that puzzle continues and multiple companies look for a way to get streaming subscribers to stay in one place, customer churn is still high. Or, as Parks Associates describes it...

Amazon rumors show ad-supported video picking up steam

Roku is still ahead of Amazon Fire TV in the U.S. streaming player market, according to May 2018 figures from Parks Associates. And Roku is taking advantage of that through the launch of its own ad-su...

TV antenna use surges amid coronavirus outbreak

That’s according to Parks Associates, which said that 25% of U.S. broadband households use an antenna to watch local broadcast TV channels, up from 15% in 2018. The firm said those figures could incre...

Password sharing denies streaming services $9 billion in fees

According to analysis by research firm Parks Associates, password piracy and sharing cost streaming providers like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus $9.1 billion in 2019 alone. Why aren’t these companies...