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

Do you share your TV logins with friends and family? Cable operators are coming after you

About one-third of internet users stream cable TV without paying for it by using credentials of someone they don't live with, according to Parks Associates. The TV industry's losses from password shar...

Should AT&T listen to activist investor or stay the course?

HBO Max has become the bellwether that investors are watching to see whether AT&T can execute its entertainment vision. “Out of all their financials, it’s just a small part of AT&T,” said Brett Sap...

Apriva and CardSmith Bring Mobile Payment to Campus Cards

The leading provider of Cloud-Based campus card payment solutions, CardSmith, and Apriva, the leading provider of end-to-end wireless transactions and secure information solutions, announced that they...

The Apple TV is lagging behind its biggest rivals

When it comes to streaming set-top boxes, the Apple TV may get most of the attention, but it's not the device used by most in the US for streaming video. According to a new study by the research fi...