Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

OTT churn increases in US during pandemic

According to Parks Associates, an increasing number of US broadband households cancelled at least one OTT subscription in the early part of the year, with a significant number also utilising the free trials offered by streamers during the coronavirus pandemic.

More than two in five households have tried out an OTT service’s free trial during the crisis, with 8% trialling four or more.

Of households that signed up to a service during the pandemic, 49% subscribed to Disney+ and 27% subscribed to Apple TV+ – the two best performers.

The report also raises questions about whether subscribers will keep these services with shelter-in-place rules being relaxed, in spite of a growing number of COVID-19 cases in many states. It notes that maintaining subscribers may be difficult for platforms which rely on original programming – much of which will have been affected by delays to production.

Steve Nason, research director at Parks Associates, said: “We are seeing a record number of consumers experiment with new OTT services as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the shifts in strategy in the industry.OTT services are offering extended free trials to build up engagement, and 8% of US broadband households report they have subscribed to at least one new OTT service since the COVID-19 crisis began.

“The industry is working on new hybrid content strategies as a result of production halts. Major players like AT&T for Warner Brothers and Comcast for Universal Studios are greatly concerned about the delays in content production on the launches of new services, like HBO Max and Peacock. Free trials will bring in new subscribers at the launch, and roughly seven in ten have subscribed to at least one OTT service they have trialed. OTT services need to be creative in building an engaging service, but during this time of heavy video consumption, OTT services have the opportunity like never before to win over new video consumers and retain them as long-term subscribers.”

From the article "OTT churn increases in US during pandemic" by Jonathan Easton.

Previously In The News

The Smart Money: Partnership Possibilities in the Connected Home

Parks Associates will be presenting this data and more at CONNECTIONS: The Premier Connected Home Conference, May 13-15 at the Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy (www.connectionsus.com). The event wil...

Smarter Energy at Home: How Consumers Are Taking Control with Smart Home Tech

GearBrain has long covered the smart home space and frequently sources Parks Associates' research for our reporting, including this article. Parks’ recent findings and the expert insights shared at CE...

More than 278 million viewers will watch subscription ad-supported streaming services by 2029 – Parks Associates

Parks Associates' new white paper, Interactive & Shoppable TV: Next Wave of CTV Revenues, released in partnership with Adeia, focuses on the service provider opportunity to advance the consumer experi...

Streaming paradox: More options, less clarity in business models

Recent data from Parks Associates noted the extent of this shift: 59% of subscriptions across the eight leading streaming video-on-demand services in the third quarter of 2024 were basic-tier subscrip...