Cord-Cutters Want More Streaming Bundles, but They Are Wary of What That Would Do to Prices

There’s no denying that customers want fewer (and smaller) streaming bills every month. A recent survey from Bango indicates that 73% of streaming subscribers want one platform that will manage their various streaming services and keep all of their bills in one place. While that is still not a major part of the current streaming landscape, more companies appear to be increasingly open to making it happen. Paramount+ and Peacock have discussed merging their services onto one platform in recent months, and new data from Civic Science is revealing which streamer would benefit from that arrangement most, and how customers will react.

• Civic Science found that 72% of Paramount+ customers also subscribe or plan to subscribe to Peacock as well.
• Almost 70% of Paramount+ and Peacock subscribers have canceled at least one streaming subscription in the past year.
• More customers believe that merging/bundling will have a negative impact on the streaming environment than a positive one.

The data from Civic Science shows that 72% of Paramount+ subscribers already subscribe or plan to subscribe to Peacock. Fusing Paramount+ with Peacock would mean less friction for this large swath of viewers, giving them easier access to content they are already signed up for or plan to sign up for. Fifty-two percent of those who plan to sign up for Paramount+ but are not Peacock customers — or don’t intend to be — indicate that there is substantial overlap between the streamers.

Bringing the two services together would create a powerful NFL streaming platform. A combination of Paramount+ and Peacock would offer all Sunday afternoon games appearing on CBS in a given market, and “Sunday Night Football” on NBC each week as well. Questions have emerged about Paramount’s ability to meet its financial obligations to the NFL, and acquiring millions of new subscribers thanks to a combination with Peacock could be just the ticket to help fill its coffers.

Civic Science’s data also points out that Paramount+ and Peacock subscribers churn at a higher-than-average rate for the industry. Its numbers show that 56% of streaming users had churned away from at least one service in 2024 so far, but among Paramount+ customers that number jumps to 69%. Peacock subscribers also churn at a higher rate than average, with 68% saying they had canceled at least one streaming service after watching a particular show or movie this year.

If customers are as interested in unified streaming platforms as they say they are, a combination of Peacock and Paramount+ could drive these churn numbers down considerably. Together, the two platforms would offer a wide range of library shows like “The Office,” “Parks & Rec,” “Frasier,” “NCIS,” the Star Trek franchise, and a lot more. Giving customers a big catalog of these titles to fall back on while they wait for a new show or movie to arrive on the platform.

How Do Customers Feel About Bundles?

Given the fact that so many viewers want platforms that combine their streaming services, it may seem surprising that 42% of respondents to Civic Science’s survey questions thought that streaming platform mergers would have a neutral impact or no effect. Twenty-seven percent of respondents said they thought such combinations would have a very or somewhat positive effect, while 30% said it would have a somewhat or very negative effect.

Many viewers seem convinced that such mergers would have a profound effect in driving up the price of streaming services. It’s easy to see where that fear comes from; after all, the recently-announced joint venture streaming platform on the way from Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery is likely to cost around $50 per month, and as it’s one of the first cross-company streaming platforms set to hit, it’s no wonder that 76% of Civic Science respondents are somewhat or very concerned about mergers leading to higher prices.

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But subscription video services like Paramount+ and Peacock are somewhat different than the JV streamer from Disney, Fox, and WBD. The JV platform will operate as a live TV streaming service, not a subscription video service, meaning most of its content will be live rather than on-demand. There will be no way to purchase the channels incorporated into the JV streamer individually, whereas a future combination of Paramount+ and Peacock would likely still allow potential customers to subscribe to the two streamers separately; although a complete integration is possible.

If Paramount+ and Peacock are still available as individual services once a hypothetical combination of the two is available, such a platform will almost certainly be available at a lower price than what customers would end up paying for the two streamers individually. That’s the best way to attract customers to the bundle, and it’s something Disney has been doing with Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ since 2019; viewers can save more than 40% over the costs of each service by signing up for the Disney Bundle.

Amazon recently launched a series of bundles on its Prime Video Channels platform, all of which cost less than subscribing to the services incorporated in those bundles one by one. Max and Netflix are available as a bundle for select Verizon Wireless customers for just $9.99 per month; since getting ad-supported Max costs $9.99 per month by itself, this deal is essentially granting subscribers access to Netflix’s ad-supported plan for free. Contrary to customer fears, the combination of individual subscription video streaming services has historically led to lower prices, not higher ones.

A combination of Paramount+ and Peacock into a new bundle would benefit Paramount+ subscribers most, since a big majority of them already use or intend to use Peacock. Viewers are wary of price increases that could emerge from such bundles in the future, but historically the combination of subscription video streamers has led to lower prices for customers.