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

IoT adoption to spur fresh customer service approaches

According to research from Parks Associates, US broadband households now own an average of seven and a half connected computing and video entertainment devices, and 18% own at least one smart home dev...

Nvidia Updates Shield Tablet, Shaves $100 Off Price

The Shield Tablet has a growing collection of native games, formatted especially for its K1 chip, and the ability to relay games from PC to TV. It supports Nvidia's cloud-streaming service for games a...

Amazon, Hulu, Netflix maintain grip on US OTT market

"The number of new services and continued growth for many existing services show the vitality of the OTT video services market in the US," said Brett Sappington, director of research at Parks Associat...

UHD TV - What's the Damage?

TV manufacturers could have a very good holiday season, and the good times likely will continue through 2019. Sales of 4K or Ultra High Definition TV sets will exceed 330 million units by the end o...