Key findings include:
Awareness of leading streaming services is universal, but many consumers aren’t confident what differentiates one platform from another.
Nearly 100 per cent of consumers have heard of the major streaming services. However, as many as half of consumers are not confident they could explain to someone else what makes each streamer unique. Understanding has improved for some services since last year, but others have stalled.
Without a clear identity for platform brands, viewers make choices based on the shows themselves.
Almost 40 per cent of viewers say they’ve signed up for a new subscription just to watch one piece of content – roughly the same proportion as in 2023 and 2022. Young people (50 per cent) and households with kids (49 per cent) are even more likely to sign up just to watch one show.
The tendency to subscribe based on content makes production and licensing decisions even more critical.
In 2024, fewer respondents said they signed up for Disney+ and Max to watch one show – perhaps an after-effect of the strikes and lower content budgets in general.
On the other hand, Peacock was the only platform with a statistically significant increase in the number who signed up to watch a specific show. This survey was fielded after the NFL playoffs, where many signed up for Peacock to watch the Chiefs/Dolphins game.
“As big streamers aim to be all things for all people, viewers are struggling to identify what distinguishes them from each other,” says Jason Platt Zolov, consultant for Hub.
“Until streamers develop more brand-defining features, viewer loyalty is at risk and consumers will continue to churn as they chase shows across services.”
Source: advanced-television.com
