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

CNET's Next Big Thing: Will our homes remain our headquarters?

To pick apart where at-home behavior works and where it doesn't, I assembled three of the smartest people in tech to sort this out in CNET's Next Big Thing presentation at CES 2021: Jennifer Kent, sen...

HBO Max: Everything to know about HBO's streaming app

But two crucial streaming devices don't have HBO Max. Neither Roku nor Amazon Fire TV devices support HBO Max, even though those devices represent the vast majority of streaming devices in the US. Res...

About 20% of U.S. broadband households get live TV through an antenna, Parks Associates says

The percentage of U.S. broadband households that use digital antennas in their homes increased to 20% near the end of 2017, up from 16% in early 2015, according to Parks Associates. "Increasingly,...

Apple’s TV service faces its biggest test yet as free trials run out

Apple reducing its reliance on free trials for Apple TV+ is a “critical point” for the service, said Parks Associates research director Steve Nason, who follows the streaming industry. “For newer o...