Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

On a Netflix free trial? A third of you will likely pay up

Almost one out of three people who use a free trial to try out a streaming video service end up subscribing, researcher Parks Associates said Monday.

That "sizeable portion" of trial users dwarfs the amount of people who abuse free try-outs, Parks senior analyst Glenn Hower said.

"There is a potential for free trial abuse, but only roughly 1 percent of consumers are 'serial trialers,'" he said. "Most consumers use trials for their intended purpose of trying out a service before deciding whether or not to continue as a paid subscriber."

Services, such as Hulu, Netflix and live-TV streamers like Sling TV, often offer a free period, one of the consumer-friendly patterns that have become standard for online video competitors -- and have made it easier for people get a sense of life as a cord-cutter. Traditional TV providers like cable and satellite have grappled with dwindling customer growth as more people opt for online alternatives.

From the article "On a Netflix free trial? A third of you will likely pay up" by Joan E. Solsman.

Previously In The News

Is Streaming Fragmentation Reviving Piracy?

Twenty-three percent of respondents also said that they thought piracy was “OK,” a jump from 14% in 2019, when the streaming market was less saturated, according to MediaPost’s reporting of Parks...

Survey Says: The Future of Smart Homes and Appliances Has Arrived

According to researchers at Harvard University, Americans spent nearly $420 billion on home improvements and repairs in 2020, as households modified living spaces for work, school, and leisure in resp...

2021 Predictions: ‘Zoom Rooms,’ Full Metal Jackets will shape the year

Twenty-six percent of US broadband households find the idea of making purchases directly from TV shows “appealing or very appealing,” according to a 2020 Parks Associates survey. From the article "...

Comcast, Walmart in talks to develop and distribute smart TVs

Comcast is fairly late to the game in distribution of streaming apps. Roku and Amazon together have a roughly 70% share of the U.S. market for streaming-media devices, with Apple in third place, accor...