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

19% of US Broadband Households Have Smart Home Device

Parks Associates today announced a new industry report, Cloud Platforms for the Internet of Things, revealing 19% of US broadband households currently own at least one Internet-connected smart home de...

Microsoft Announces Deals with 74 Device Makers

Parks Associates has released numbers on smartphone sales. It found that 86 percent of broadband households in the United States have a smartphone. The numbers are similar in European countries: 76 pe...

Apple Retains Position As Top Smartphone Maker In America In 2015: Report

"Apple remains the dominant smartphone manufacturer in the U.S., but Samsung is catching up," said Harry Wang -- Director of Health & Mobile Product Research at Parks Associates -- in a press statemen...

2015 Sees 16% Spike In Pay-TV First-Timers In Spain

A new Parks Associates report, Connected Consumer in Europe, reveals Spanish consumers are more likely than consumers in other Western European markets either to have never had pay-TV or to have cance...