Survey: 86% of Customers Have Multiple Streaming Subscriptions, but 47% Pay for Some They Don’t Use
How closely do you watch your budget? Are you paying for subscriptions you don’t really use?
If so, you’re definitely not alone. A new survey from Forbes is highlighting the proliferation of streaming services in the entertainment market, and the purchasing habits of American consumers surrounding them. According to the findings, 86% of streaming users in the United States are signed up for more than one service. The average person has 2.8 streaming services, and nearly 10% of streaming users have five or more.
All of those subscriptions come to an average monthly cost of $39 per person. One problem with that figure is that for many customers, it’s higher than it needs to be. That’s because nearly half — 47% — of users are paying for a streaming service they never use. This could be because they’ve forgotten to cancel it or because they are holding out hope that the streaming service will again offer a show or movie they don’t want to miss.
It’s easy to sign up for a free trial and forget to cancel before the full price kicks in, especially with automatic renewals. Over 15% of respondents to Forbes’ survey said they audit their streaming subscriptions only once a year, never, or they don’t remember the last time they did so. With so many budgetary items demanding attention, and financial pressures on a household growing, it’s understandable that so many consumers lose track of their spending on streaming.
The numbers highlight the pressures subscription video services face in an increasingly crowded marketplace. Because streaming subscriptions are so easy to get out of, users are highly comfortable signing up for services for just one show. Fifty-seven percent of Forbes respondents say they have done so, an even higher number than the 41% of survey participants who responded likewise to another survey published earlier this week from Hub Research.
That means that streamers have to continue making standout content, which becomes harder to do as content budgets are shrinking. The growth of content spending is due to slow in 2023 after soaring budgets left many streaming services like Disney+ millions or billions of dollars in the red.
Those pressures could increase even further if the 47% of users who pay for a streamer they don’t use start to curate their budgets more carefully. These users are unlikely to simply leave the streaming ecosystem altogether, but they could increase churn rates for services that are already feeling under the gun thanks to budget constraints and other pressures.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”