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

It's Really Hard to Make Money With Virtual Reality Games

Considering the high profile of the launch we're talking about 2,300 is an awfully low number, even factoring in some of the criticisms of Light Repair Team #4 and its sparse marketing. That speaks to...

Apple Music Announces First Original TV Series

A recent study from Parks Associates found that 31% of broadband-enabled households have more than one over-the-top (OTT) subscription and 63% have at least one, with Netflix and Amazon Video being th...

Walmart Posts Healthy Second-Quarter 2019 Financials

The nation’s largest retailer continues to lead in DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales, devoting significant retail space to the category, including point-of-purchase displays and ubiquitous dump bins. “We...

10 Things To Know About Online-To-Offline Marketing From 2017

A majority of consumers already perform ‘connected activities’ while driving, like making voice calls through a built-in interface, according to research from Parks Associates. From the article "10...