In spite of sounding like a broken record, content really is king when it comes to driving subscribers to streaming services, and the more variety the better. New research from Parks Associates shows that even viewers who have a favorite genre of content spend 70% of their viewing time on services that have a content library full of variety, such as Netflix, Tubi, or AMC+. Specifically, 44% spend 76% or more of their OTT viewing time on broad-based services, while 48% spend 25% or less on niche services
“Services offering a variety of content categories are the foundation of consumers’ video service ensembles,” said Paul Erickson, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. “Many niche services have been successful, including those dedicated to horror, religious, children’s, and anime content, and niche services such as ESPN+, Britbox, and Crunchyroll make up an important part of the service ecosystem. However, they are unlikely to be the primary, foundational content source within a household.”
Alongside content, price goes hand in hand as the top deciding factor in what streaming services viewers choose. Fifty percent of viewers cite service cost as a key determination in the services that they use to access online video content.
This cost factor has driven streaming services to test out different tiered options, including HBO Max, Paramount+, and Peacock which has both free, ad-supported and paid tiers.
“A hybrid pricing approach meets consumers where they are,” Erickson said. “Maximizing revenue potential with hybrid pricing will help services finance the growing cost of content library growth.”