Which Streamers Are Customers Stacking as Bundling Options Increase?
Which Streamers Are Customers Stacking as Bundling Options Increase?
New data from Antenna shows which streamers customers are self-bundling, and which service would see the least advantage from joining bundles in the future.
The future is now, streaming audiences. Viewers have been waiting and hoping that more streaming providers would combine their services in bundled offerings available at discounted prices, and now they’re getting their wish. Several new streaming bundles have been announced in the past few months, and new research from Antenna, as reported by The Wall Street Journal shows which streaming services already have large areas of audience overlap, and which are perfect for bundling because only a small percentage of customers currently subscribe to both streamers.
Key Details:
- Most streaming services have around twice as many “casual” customers as they do long-term subscribers.
- Max sees the most overlap with Apple TV, but its new streaming bundle with Disney+ and Hulu has the potential to deliver lots of new customers.
- Netflix has the least to gain from bundles, as evidenced by big customer overlaps with multiple competing streamers.
The data from Antenna shows that bundling will become increasingly important for streamers as costs continue to rise. Most streaming services already have a much larger proportion of customers who have been signed up for six months or less than customers who are long-term subscribers.
Unsurprisingly, Netflix is the big exception here. It’s the only streamer measured by Antenna whose customer base is more than 50% long-term users; 67% of its total subscriber pool is made up of committed viewers. Max has the fewest long-term customers, as only 28% of its subscribers have been signed up to the streamer for at least half a year.
This data shows precisely why bundling has become so important. Rising prices have led many viewers to think of streaming as no better than pricey traditional TV alternatives, but bundles offer the chance to give customers meaningful savings on services they want to subscribe to anyway, leading to a more loyal subscriber base that cancels less frequently on average.
Which Streaming Services Should Be Seeking Out Bundles?
Antenna’s data also shows which services are already centerpieces of self-constructed bundles. These numbers are important for streaming providers because they can help demonstrate where the best potential new audiences for their services are. Antenna went to exhaustive lengths to show which streaming services have the most subscriber overlap; this data is important to quantify, because streamers that join in bundles with higher rates of overlap risk cannibalizing their already-existing audiences instead of drawing new customers to the combined product.
For example, the data shows that Max is a good bundle option for just about every other streamer to pursue. Only 19% of Max subscribers are also signed up for Disney+ currently, and an even smaller percentage are signed up for Hulu. This means that the newly announced bundle of Disney+, Hulu, and Max has the chance to add a meaningful swath of new customers. The three services are also a fit content-wise; the prestige TV available on Max is highly complimentary with the general entertainment on Hulu and the kids’ content and flashy franchises on Disney+.
Netflix is the streamer that would likely see the least subscriber benefits from joining a bundle. More than 40% of Netflix customers are also subscribed to Apple TV+, Disney+, Hulu, and Peacock, suggesting that the streamer is already the centerpiece of most viewers’ streaming stacks. It’s also got more long-term customers than any other streaming service, so it doesn’t need to join bundles in order to help it drive down churn as urgently as other streamers do.
However, recent data from Hub Research shows that Netflix might want to consider joining more streaming bundles anyway. The numbers show that Netflix is the brand that would cause the most people to think about signing up for a bundle, and that information will likely drive other services to increasingly inquire if Netflix would join a bundle with them.
The data would give Netflix leverage to ask for better terms in a bundling agreement than it could normally expect. Perhaps future bundle deals will require other streamers involved to license content to Netflix; its most recent viewership data dump revealed licensed titles from HBO and other outlets were significant viewership generators for Netflix.
Having already agreed to join a new streaming combination with Apple TV+ and Peacock which will be offered to Comcast customers, it’s clear that Netflix’s answer to streaming bundle inquiries isn’t a flat no. It will be fascinating to see what other new streaming bundles are unveiled in the coming months, as customers increasingly demand lower-cost streaming options and providers seek ways to create more high-quality subscribers.
Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.