Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Paid streaming for cheapskates is having a moment

“This is a lot of catalog content,” says Parks Associates entertainment research director Michael Goodman, using industry shorthand for titles making up Hollywood’s back catalogs.

“There is not one business model that fits everybody,” says Goodman. Adding ad-free streaming to its portfolio is a smart move for Roku, he argues. “You need to have multiple platforms to reach the consumer.”

If Howdy catches on, other free streamers may follow with their own paid plans, predicts Goodman. “There is potential for this to expand to other services.”

“Subscription growth at any cost — that’s not the model today,” says Goodman, alluding to the billions of dollars the industry poured into streaming a few years ago.

When services like Apple TV Plus and Peacock launched in 2019 and 2020, respectively, they bet on undercutting Netflix with deeply discounted subscription plans — only to double the costs of those plans in the following years.

Could the same eventually happen to Howdy subscribers? Goodman thinks so. “Over time, the price will rise,” he says.

From the article, "Paid streaming for cheapskates is having a moment" by Janko Roettgers

Previously In The News

Price hikes for cord-cutters. What gives?

Price increases come in bunches, said Brett Sappington, a pay TV expert who follows traditional and Internet providers for the research outfit Parks Associates. “The fact that they're all doing pri...

What dealers need to know to keep their customers cyber-secure.

Advising customers about options such as these could be an important task for security dealers, considering that a recent Parks Associate survey conducted for Qolsys found that 64 percent of professio...

Is it ‘Smart’ Home or ‘Connected’ Home?

According to the research firm Parks Associates, nearly 40 percent of security dealers that offer interactive services today report that half or more of their sales now include at least one smart home...

Parks studies IoT interoperability and customer expectations

Parks Associates released a report, titled “Interoperability and the Internet of Things,” that said voice control integrations are high on consumers’ wish lists when it comes to new smart devices and...