Americans’ new TV habit: Subscribe. Watch. Cancel. Repeat. - eviltoast

Many more people are jumping from one streaming subscription to another, a behavior that could have big implications for the entertainment industry.

Americans are getting increasingly impulsive about hitting the cancellation button on their streaming services. More than 29 million — about a quarter of domestic paying streaming subscribers — have canceled three or more services over the last two years, according to Antenna, a subscription research firm. And the numbers are rising fast.

The data suggests a sharp shift in consumer behavior — far from the cable era, when viewers largely stuck with a single provider, as well as the early days of the so-called streaming wars, when people kept adding services without culling or jumping around.

Among these nomadic subscribers, some are taking advantage of how easy it is, with a monthly contract and simple click of a button, to hopscotch from one service to the next. Indeed, these users can be fickle — a third of them resubscribe to the canceled service within six months, according to Antenna’s research.

“In three years, this went from a very niche behavior to an absolute mainstream part of the market,” said Jonathan Carson, the chief executive of Antenna.

Non-paywall link

  • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Having used Disney and Paramount apps, I’m blown away by how much better the Netflix user experience is.

    • OpenStars@startrek.website
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      6 months ago

      I have never seen those others but damn, that… does not sound good:-|.

      I’ve practically never had a connection issue with Netflix:-). Among the shit-ton of evil companies out there, they are themselves no shining angels but… they don’t seem nearly as bad as the rest of them imho.

      • AbidanYre@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        I mean their selection keeps getting worse, but the app is responsive and intuitive, which is more than can be said for either of those other ones.

        • OpenStars@startrek.website
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          6 months ago

          My thoughts about Netflix are the same: I am less than happy about the content - which is beyond their control - but very happy with the apps that they offer that is totally within their control.