Only 20% of streaming subscribers are content to stay with providers
Interpret’s VideoWatch Trends research determines that the growing number of streaming offerings leads to increased experimentation and willingness to switch
June 8, 2021, Los Angeles, CA – According to new research by Interpret, only 20% of streaming subscribers are content to stay with their current providers. The aggressive marketing of new streaming services is providing consumers with more incentive to cut the pay TV cord and sign up for new services, but subscriber churn has become an increasing problem for streaming service providers.
According to Interpret’s Video Churn Today: Trends, Changes and Outlook 2021 report, SVOD subscribers increased by 14% in the second half of 2020. During the same period, the rate of cancellation increased to 20% from 15% — signaling that churn is not unique to pay TV providers. Pay TV providers saw churn increase 2 points to 7% during the second half of the year.
“Subscriber churn was a concern for many video service providers prior to the pandemic, particularly for pay TV. The interruption in content, household income, and viewing behavior, along with heightened competition, has led to changes in how consumers value and evaluate video offerings,” said Brett Sappington, VP of Research at Interpret. “Users now realize that they can’t get all of their preferred content in one place. The industry is essentially training consumers to be churn tolerant. So, the question for the future is less about how to stop churn, and more about how to make churn work in your favor.”
According to the Interpret report, consumers who subscribe to multiple SVOD services also have a willingness to watch ad-supported streaming (AVOD) services, providing ad agencies growing inventory on streaming outlets. Consumers, moreover, are actively taking advantage of trials without subscribing, and adding and dropping services on an increasing basis. Nearly 20% of subscribers report switching among services to watch platform exclusives, and 13% report cancelling a service after watching a selected video series.
Interpret’s Video Churn Today: Trends, Changes and Outlook 2021 report identifies the stages of subscription lifecycles and reviews the new set of KPIs that measure success in the fast-moving world of streaming, including:
- Net Return Score
- Average Cycle Time (Winback Time)
- Winback Ratio
- User Saturation
- True Lifetime Value (or Extended Lifetime Value)
- Content Retention Scores / Measurements
Video Churn Today: Trends, Changes and Outlook 2021 is the latest offering in the VideoWatch™ series of research reports that includes VideoWatch: Trends™, VideoWatch: Consumer™, and VideoWatch: Forecasts™.
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