Customer Feelings About Subscription Costs, Password Sharing Demonstrate How Indispensable Streaming Has Become
There’s no doubt about it, customers are feeling frustrated with their streaming subscriptions nowadays. New data from Aluma Insights confirms as much, showing that 35% of subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) subscribers now think their monthly streaming expenses are too high. Only 5% of those surveyed indicated they’d be willing to spend more on SVOD services.
It’s yet more data that shows the streaming market is fully mature in the United States. Most customers have hit their ceilings in terms of how many streaming services they can pay for in a month, and an increasing number feel that costs have risen too high.
Aluma’s data is backed up by another survey from DailyStoke, an online publication that covers gaming and sports betting. Forty-six percent of respondents to its survey said they don’t think streaming services offer enough to account for their rising prices.
DailyStoke also surveyed users on their feelings regarding password sharing, and found that 37% of respondents said they shared at least one streaming password with someone outside their home. Family members were the most frequent users to have a password shared with them, and 64% say they’re frustrated by the efforts of streamers like Netflix to crack down on the behavior.
Yet for all this frustration, streamers don’t have to worry that their customers are suddenly going to revolt on mass. Streaming has become an indispensable part of the American consumer’s entertainment mix. DailyStoke’s data confirms as much, as 62% of its respondents said they felt having a streaming service was necessary in today’s society. More than nine in 10 (94%) said they liked the content offered through streaming services, and one in four said they couldn’t live without their streamers.
Even Netflix’s rules against password sharing, which are the most aggressive in the American SVOD market thus far, aren’t keeping the service down. DailyStoke’s respondents identified it as the top overall streamer in terms of content, second overall in price, and first overall in user experience. It’s hardly surprising, given Netflix has more global customers than any streamer on the market at over 232 million.
One way streamers can ensure they become even more indispensable is by offering live TV. A full 70% of streaming customers think SVOD services should offer more live TV, as Peacock and Paramount+ do, depending on which tier users subscribe to. Paramount+ with Showtime integrates a livestream of local CBS affiliates, and Peacock likewise offers NBC streams on its Premium Plus tier.
Consumers now think of streaming as more like a utility. They may gripe when costs rise, but they think of their streaming budget as a permanent part of their monthly outlay, and they won’t leave it behind even amidst rising costs and less user-friendly measures like rules against account sharing.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” and “The Office,” as well as original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports including NFL, MLB, WWE, Olympics, Premier League, NASCAR, French Open, College Football and Basketball, and PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.