The rise in popularity of video streaming services has come amid (and is partly a cause of) cord-cutting, which has long been attributed to costs that subscribers did not want to bear for channels they didn’t watch. But with streaming options proliferating and households continuing to add to their services, costs have become a crucial factor in the streaming landscape, too.
A recent Ipsos survey [pdf] delved into the attitudes of video streaming service subscribers – those who either subscribe to a paid/subscription based streaming service with a library of shows and movies (e.g. Netflix) and/or a live TV streaming service (e.g. YouTube TV).
The results show that cost is the most important factor in decisions to drop or cancel a streaming service. Fully 91% of respondents said that the monthly or annual cost is an important factor, making this the one with the broadest consensus. The next-most cited factor was the content changing (82%).
However, whereas just 31% of respondents said that the content changing is a “very important” reason for them to drop or cancel a streaming service, about twice as many (61%) said that the monthly or annual cost is a “very important” reason for doing so.
Likewise, costs factor into the decision to subscribe to a streaming service. The monthly or annual cost of a subscription is considered very or somewhat important by 92% of respondents when making a decision to subscribe to a streaming service, putting this ahead of other considerations including whether or not they have specific shows or movies available (87%), if there is an option to choose whether or not to have ads (70%), and if they have original programming (67%). (Previous research has also found that pricing options are more important than original programming.)
Once again, when narrowing down to the percentage of respondents who said these considerations are “very important,” the monthly or annual cost (65%) came out on top by a sizable margin.
And when asked the single most important factor in their decision to subscribe to a streaming service, a leading 37% share pointed to the cost, edging out the availability of specific shows or movies (35% share).
This focus on cost is a prime reason for the growth in ad-supported streaming, with the latest evidence being Netflix’s foray into an ad-supported tier. This is opening up new opportunities for advertisers at a time when connected TV advertising is already on the rise. The rise in streaming services are also offering fertile opportunities for product placements.
Other Survey Highlights:
- Compared to a year ago, 38% of subscribers are paying more for streaming subscriptions, consistent with research showing that households have added to their stacking behavior over the past year.
- 8 in 10 subscribers agree that streaming services do a good job of showing characters from diverse backgrounds in their content. This sentiment has also turned up in other research about Hispanics’ streaming.
- Two-thirds (68%) prefer subscribing to streaming services over traditional cable.
- Despite the focus on costs, 58% would pay an extra $5 per month for their most used streaming service, though only one-third (33%) would pay an extra $10 per month.
- Almost 7 in 10 (69%) believe there are too many streaming services and platforms available, and 58% feel overwhelmed by the amount of content available through streaming services.
About the Data: The results are based on a survey of 1,031 US adults, of whom 765 either subscribe to a paid/subscription based streaming service with a library of shows and movies (e.g. Netflix) and/or a live TV streaming service (e.g. YouTube TV).