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

40% Of US Pay-TV Consumers Use TVE

TV Everywhere reached 40% of US pay-TV consumers in 2015, up from 22% in 2013, according to new research from Parks Associates. Entertainment Habits on Connected CE Devices shows the percentage of...

OTT Video Is Growing In Europe

However, the number of paid subscriptions in Europe is significantly lower, where 30% of broadband households in the UK and 17% in France subscribe to OTT video, compared to 64% of US broadband househ...

Parks: Netflix Is OTT Leader In The US

Parks Associates announced OTT data showing that at the end of 2015, approximately 20% of US broadband households had cancelled at least one OTT video service in the past 12 months. In 2Q 2015, 18% ha...

16% Of US Homes Have OTT Sports Service

16% of US broadband households have a sports OTT video service subscription, according to Parks Associates. Although it does not stream live games, NFL Game Pass is the most highly adopted service,...