What execs got wrong about free streaming viewers
What execs got wrong about free streaming viewers
Budget-conscious consumers are far from the only ones who are spending an increased amount of time with free streaming services.
Is it just about the bottom line for free streaming customers? Money obviously plays a part in viewers’ decisions to watch free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services like Pluto TV, [The Roku Channel], and Tubi; the non-stop trend of rising prices at top subscription streamers essentially makes the use of FAST and free on-demand platforms a necessity for many cord-cutters.
But media executives who see free streamers as throwaway services are missing out on what makes them truly great, according to viewers. New data from Hub Research is helping shed more light on what kinds of consumers are streaming free content the most often, and what platforms are getting wrong about this growing group of people.
TV executives who expected free streamers to appeal primarily to customers who don’t care enough about TV to pay for it are getting quite the awakening from audiences, who continue to take their viewing hours to free platforms in increasing numbers.
Free streaming services are more often seen as a must-have, not simply a no-cost companion to traditional subscription streamers. Hub’s “FAST: Full-Throttle” study found that 55% of TV viewers now have at least one free ad-supported streaming service, and 46% say those services are a must-have part of their individual entertainment ecosystem. Research from Parks Associates shows that while Tubi, The Roku Channel, and Pluto TV are the top three free streamers in the United States, viewers have numerous high-quality, general entertainment options, and thousands of niche and genre-specific services as well.
The data from Hub paints a revealing picture of who free streaming audience members truly are. In many ways, they’re a lot like the larger community of TV watchers; users of free streaming services watch around 24 hours of TV per week, two hours more than the 22 hours watched by those who don’t use free streamers.
FAST services aren’t only used by penny-pinching viewers, either. Hub found that users of free streaming services estimated their TV spend at $75 per month, only slightly less than the estimates provided by exclusively paid streaming users ($84); essentially, the cost of one additional platform. Only 15% of respondents said they used free streamers as a replacement for paid services, whereas 60% said they used FAST as a companion to subscriptions.
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Of course, having free content available is a big draw for viewers; 87% of respondents say that the lack of cost is the biggest draw for FAST services as compared to subscription streamers. But almost one-third of participants in Hub’s study (32%) said they love the availability of nostalgic titles on the services, and 39% said they were easier to use than other types of streaming platforms.
The availability of older shows isn’t just a bug that keeps these streamers free; it’s one of the main draws. A combined 46% of respondents said they most often use a free streamer to watch older shows they haven’t seen, or to rewatch a show they’ve seen before.
The increasingly complicated streaming user interfaces are clearly also a reason that people are turning to the more straightforward FAST platforms. While every streamer utilizes some sort of computer learning and algorithmic technology to suggest content, the further integration of artificial intelligence seems to be making things more confusing for users, instead of less.
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The numbers from Hub show that the average FAST viewer has a far more layered approach to their TV subscriptions than many entertainment company C-suiters may think. Clearly, the free streaming audience is not exclusively comprised of TV-ambivalent viewers who can’t be bothered to seek out their favorite content via subscription.
Instead, the data shows free streaming viewers to be highly engaged with TV. Fans of a casual viewing experience shouldn’t be confused with casual TV watchers; there’s a huge audience out there that loves being able to sit down and start watching without having to wade through dozens of recommendation carousels in order to make a choice about what to watch next.
Subscription streamers have understandably used flashy programming and big-name franchises to attract subscribers, but audiences don’t always want to have to keep up with a constant stream of new releases that soon become indistinguishable from one another. FAST services offer a haven for familiar content that viewers can turn on and know exactly what kind of watching experience they’re going to have.
Subscription streaming services can no longer treat free streamers like an afterthought. They’re a clear competitor for audience attention, and it’s not only because they offer long-form video with no subscription fees. As Hub’s new study makes plain, audiences are so willingly turning to free streamers because they offer a comfortable, familiar TV-watching experience that doesn’t ask too much of them.
Tubi
Tubi is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to 200,000+ movies and TV episodes - more than any other streaming service. Its ad breaks are shorter and less frequent than most free services. Fox executives have called their service “TV on steroids.”