Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Nearly a Third of Streaming Service Trials Result in a Paid Subscription

New research shows 32 percent of free trials for streaming services end in a subscription.

That’s good news for Hulu and YouTube as they launched skinny bundle streaming services in the last month, which followed the launch of DirecTV Now late last year.

“Free OTT trials are effective in converting a sizeable portion of trial users into subscribers,” said senior analyst Glenn Hower of Parks Associates, which conducted the study. Hower admits that while there is a potential for “free trial abuse” only about 1 percent of consumers are “serial trialers” who abuse free trials to avoid paying for services.

From the article "Nearly a Third of Streaming Service Trials Result in a Paid Subscription" by Chris Ariens.

Previously In The News

vMVPD market shakeout won’t happen in 2018, analysts say

The group, however, didn’t bite, forming a consensus that these are the early days for the virtual MVPD industry. Despite rampant competition for subscribers, high programming costs and loss-leader pr...

About 20% of U.S. broadband households get live TV through an antenna, Parks Associates says

The percentage of U.S. broadband households that use digital antennas in their homes increased to 20% near the end of 2017, up from 16% in early 2015, according to Parks Associates. "Increasingly,...

The probability of success for ESPN+

Parks Associates analyst Brett Sappington agreed that it will be compelling for some customers, particularly due to content that won’t be available elsewhere like MLS games and some of the college spo...

DirecTV Now to hike prices as content fees rise across industry

Brett Sappington, director of research at Parks Associates, said price increases are a leading reason why viewers cancel subscriptions. “Customers don’t like surprises that hurt their pocketbook,”...