Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Hulu to launch non-stop customer service as it readies live TV

The increased spending on customer service comes as Hulu is about to go head-to-head with internet channels that offer live TV from AT&T's DirecTVNow and Dish Network Corp's Sling TV.

The services have had hiccups - like shows freezing, viewers getting error messages and system crashes. Their owners also have large customer service staffs already handling calls from their traditional pay TV customers, said Brett Sappington, senior director of research at Parks Associates.

The stakes are high for Hulu, which has a customer defection rate of 50 percent, according to Parks Associates, a Dallas-based market research firm.

"Live TV is a challenge particularly for events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars which draw millions of subscribers all at the same time," Sappington said. "You are never sure what's going to break until you have a few million people watching at the same time."

From the article "Hulu to launch non-stop customer service as it readies live TV".

Previously In The News

In a crowded market, smaller streaming services must stand out — or perish

Tubi is part of a wave of streaming services that has flooded the U.S. market; some of them cater to the general masses and others are specifically focused on genres like horror or anime. Over the las...

Nearly 3 million subscribers ditched DirecTV last year. Will AT&T do the same?

But as it races to keep up with Netflix and Disney, AT&T increasingly has treated the satellite business as something of a relic, akin to rabbit-ear antennas. “They are at a crossroads,” said Steve...

Google developing next-gen Chromecast streamer

Turning the new Chromecast into a fully fledged Android TV device could also be an important retail addition as Google attempts to cut into the streaming platform lead of Roku (36.9 million active acc...

Light Reading preps online event on streaming video

The 90-minute session will consist of a research presentation, fireside chat and panel discussion. So far, the speaking roster includes: Steve Nason, director of research at Parks Associates; Mitchell...