Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

You Can Save Over $350 a Year on Streaming Services If You Don’t Mind Commercials

Quite a lot, according to new data from Parks Associates.

The average streaming household, which subscribes to 5.6 platforms, according to the research firm, could save $366 a year on average by switching to ad-based tiers.

“The move to ad-based services provides more options for consumers, especially as they are seeking a balance between costs and the desire for multiple content options,” Jennifer Kent, Parks Associates vice president of research, said in a statement. “Not everyone’s favorite streaming service offers a cheaper ad-based service tier yet, and many subscribers will choose a mix of ad-based and premium options, depending on household preferences.”

Earlier this month, during the firm’s presentation of its State of the Market: Streaming Video Services report, Parks Associates said in the past month, 31% of U.S. households reported watching an ad-supported video on demand or a free ad-supported streaming service – a 13% increase from 2018. In addition, 41 million U.S. households are expected to watch ad-based over-the-top (OTT) video services like Tubi, Freevee, and Pluto TV. Last December, the firm said streaming subscriptions has declined 25% from $90 in 2021 to $73 in 2023, as viewers migrated to free, ad-supported services to save money.

Kent’s prediction that subscribers will choose a mix of ad-based and premium options further supports the firm’s previous notion that platform consolidation could be a potential solution for companies, viewers, and advertisers.

From the article, "You Can Save Over $350 a Year on Streaming Services If You Don’t Mind Commercials" by Shelby Brown

Previously In The News

Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Quibi Is Ready to Launch, but Will Viewers Bite?

There’s no doubt people will check out Quibi, particularly with stay-at-home directives set to run through the end of April. “America right now is a captive audience starved for something to do,” says...

Streaming Wars Accelerate: What’s Working and Why

Parks Associates, a Dallas-area research outfit, is tracking more than 200 OTT services and there are plenty more beyond those, points out analyst Hunter Sappington. “With so many services it is hard...

Bloomberg Attacks Apple TV As Failing To Be "A Groundbreaking, iPhone-Caliber Product"

According to U.S. market research published by Parks Associates last summer, Amazon media player products narrowly out-shipped Apple TV (for a 22 vs 20 percent share of the market) in 2015, but that a...

Roku Stock Retreats After Device Maker’s Roaring IPO

The scrappy independent streaming-platform developer has been able to beat Goliaths in the tech biz. Roku had 37% share of all streaming devices owned by U.S. broadband households in the first quarter...