Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Parks: Video Streaming Providers Battle 50% Churn

Video streamers and legacy pay-TV companies are seeing more competition than ever, which led to a 50% churn rate in 3Q 2023, according to research from Parks Associates. Annual churn among all over-the-top (OTT) services had been 46% during Q3 2022 and 47% in Q3 2021.

According to Parks Associates, 5% of U.S. internet households have only a pay-TV service.

As for addressing churn, Parks Associates noted that one trend among broadband providers is to offer hyperlocal services to streaming customers. Researchers offered Cox’s Neighborhood TV as an example. The goals are to expand the provider’s influence where it is offered and to attract customers to its phone, internet and pay-TV bundles. Sinclair and Hearst are station groups that are employing this type of strategy, Parks also noted.

The hyperlocal approach is wise in the ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) era, in which customers prize relevance and are unlikely to be interested if a service and its messaging are repetitive and irrelevant to them, Parks said.

“Sixty-five percent of internet households have a smart TV,” noted Eric Sorenson, director of Streaming Video Tracker for Parks Associates, in a press release about the Parks video streaming research. “This platform interface serves as the entry point for many households to their content services.

“Competition for attention is extreme, while the continued rollout of the ATSC 3.0 standard gives viewers even more options, so in 2024, we will see increased consolidation, mergers, and acquisitions as all providers must find ways to innovate alongside the greater emphasis on profitability.”

Churn is not the only problem streaming companies face. Last April, Parks said that by the end of 2027, these companies would lose $113 billion to piracy and that the rate of piracy would rise from 22% in 2022 to 24.5% in 2027.

From the article, "Parks: Video Streaming Providers Battle 50% Churn" by Carl Weinschenk

Previously In The News

The Smart Money: Why ISP Complexity Is Creating Opportunity for Security Providers

One-third of U.S. internet households now receive gigabit or multigigabit service, and average reported download speed reached 725 Mbps in Q1 2026. Rural households averaged 651 Mbps, compared with 24...

Apple releases HomeView smart home hub with screen as showcase for Siri AI

“Apple always waits for an ecosystem to develop first until they are positive they can provide a stellar user experience,” said Jennifer Kent, principal analyst at Parks Associates, which conducts res...

Apple Expands Smart Home Strategy With New HomeView Hub

Apple's announcements represent a significant expansion of its smart home strategy, moving beyond individual devices toward a more integrated experience spanning entertainment, communications, securit...

One merger after another: How the Paramount-WBD deal will impact future Oscar campaigns

Michael Goodman, director of entertainment research at Parks Associates, pointed out that the two studios have historically brought starkly different recent trajectories to the table. While Paramount...