Antenna’s Post

This morning we released the Q1'24 State of Subscriptions Report and it's all about Premium SVOD. While it’s true that growth for the Premium SVOD category has moderated to 10% in 2023, the category has more than doubled in four years. The slowdown in growth is not an issue with acquisition, but the reality that churn has grown significantly in recent years. This means streamers are having to work harder for smaller gains. At Antenna, we see the streaming video industry entering a new phase. Previously, it was hyper-focus on acquisition to establish a mass audience. But now that the largest players have scale, they have to shift their focus to more advanced subscriber management. In our Q1’24 State of Subscriptions Report, we dig into three key areas where we think services can gain a more sophisticated understanding of their subscribers and their behaviors: 1) Winbacks; 2) New Subscribers; 3) Serial Churners. You can read more about it on our Insights Blog: https://lnkd.in/eAsidzre Want your own copy of the report? Sign-up to receive it automatically on our homepage. If you’re already on our distribution list, check your email! We’ve already sent out a download link to everyone who has opted-in. And if you’re an existing Antenna client, check your email for an expanded, client-only version! #svod #streamingvideo #mediatrends #streamingmedia #data #analytics #subscribermanagement #subscriptionbusiness #subscriptionvideo #subscriptioneconomy #mediaindustry

According to the study, half of TV content viewers (52%) have cancelled or lost access to at least one of their SVOD services within the past year. Among those who cancelled or lost access within the past 12 months, the main reasons cited include efforts to cut subscription costs, recent price hikes, and perceived lack of value for the cost. Notably, for almost 3 in 10 viewers who cancelled, not being able to share or borrow log-ins was a contributing factor.

William (Bill) Mobley: A New Streaming Customer Emerges: The Subscription Pauser. Customers have formed new habits of regularly pausing subscriptions and returning to them within a year. This Antenna blog post features data originally published in The Wall Street Journal. "Between September 2023 and August 2024, there were approximately 169M Gross Additions across all Premium SVOD services. Some 57M (34%) were "Resubscribers," meaning they rejoined the same service they had previously canceled within the prior 12 months" - Antenna "Customers have formed new habits of regularly pausing subscriptions and returning to them within a year." - WSJ Choice becomes the problem Parks Associates research found that 57% of households agree there are too many streaming options to choose from. The data also found that among households that subscribe to at least one OTT service, the average number of subscriptions per household is 5.5. The same data found that nearly half (47%) of households have subscribed to and canceled a service within the past year. The top three reasons were a need to cut household expenses (32%); finishing the series they liked (25%); and couldn’t find good programs to watch (22%). Good Thing We are Fixing All This..... FreeCast: NASDAQ Symbol: CAST Dropping Soon. 25 year Vision - Originator of Streaming TV 10 years in Development $MM's Invested - corp.freecast.com - #FreeCast #NextGenStreaming #NoMoreAppDiving #EndtheStreamingChaos https://lnkd.in/eg_aw7Et

Couple of nuggets came out of Antenna this morning. Bad News: the number of net new sub adds for Q124 in all streaming was down approx 42% from Q423, down more than 40% YoY for the first quarter. Total sub adds were certainly healthy enough - more than 55M subscribers but (serial) churn remains a pesky problem. Good News: Ad supported subscriptions (and gross ads) remain on a strong upward trajectory. Three cheers for a dual revenue model and improving ARPU. 

Europeans now spend almost €700 on subscriptions every year Despite high cost-of-living concerns, European subscribers are now spending an average of €696 on subscription apps and services every year — on top of standard bills such as TV, phone, and internet. UK subscribers lead with €814 per year, followed by France (€780), Spain (€720), Germany (€684), and Italy (€600). That’s according to a newly released European Subscription Wars report from #Bango, which surveyed 5,000 European subscribers on their habits and attitudes towards streaming services and subscriptions. https://lnkd.in/d96AeswV Bango #streaming #svod #vod #netflix #primevideo #appletvplus #disneyplus #skyshowtime #adtiers

Two big news items in this conversation with Jeff Baumgartner in Light Reading (link to story below) First, we are excited to launch with our newest partner, Ziply Fiber, who is investing a tremendous amount of capital to bring fiber to hundreds of thousands of homes in the Pacific Northwest. Our suite of tools is here to help them drive acquisition and fill up that fiber with happy customers! Speaking of suite of tools, we’re also thrilled to announce the launch of our next big product. The MyBundle Mobile App is now available to all consumers on iOS and Android, and it’s co-branded for our 100s of broadband partners. We all spend way too much time flipping around on our TV, going app to app, looking for something to watch when all we want to do is sit back and relax. And while the many different TV devices out there are trying to make discovery easier - it still doesn’t feel right. I can’t be the only one who gets “just pick something already!!!” from their significant other. We believe the phone in your pocket (or what you’re reading this on) is the solution. Not only is it a lot easier to navigate, type, etc., but it’s always with us on the go! I don’t know about you, but sitting in front of the TV at 11 o’clock at night is not when my friends tell me about the latest show they watched; it’s more likely at dinner, a BBQ, etc. Big thanks to Scott Barton, Danny Cohen, Sara H. and the entire team for putting this all together and tackling the many problems facing consumers in the new streaming age. Here are just a few features/uses: 1. Quickly discover what to watch next across all your services in one place BEFORE turning on the TV and create multiple watchlists anytime, for different moods or people you watch with. 2. Stream on your phone or tablet? The MyBundle app can be your content hub to jump into playback across any of your streaming apps. 3. Share and receive recommendations for shows and movies from your friends and family. 4. Easily track all your streaming services and costs in one place. Of course, the free MyBundle app not only helps consumers but also supports our broadband and streaming partners, who are more focused than ever on customer delight and retention. And, like everything else we do at MyBundle, there is a lot more to come! Don't forget to head over to the app store and download the MyBundle app today. https://lnkd.in/eqUzaNWJ

"Streaming shakeup alert!🔔 Consumers are stacking fewer SVoD subscriptions, opting for a more selective, focused viewing approach, says Omdia. The reason? The rise of free ad-supported TV channels (FAST)! In novelties, US SVoD subscriptions per household dropped 10% to under 3 in just 7 months! Meanwhile, FAST continues to blow up, with weekly US users hitting 46% of total video users! The trend’s hot in Brazil and the UK too! This landscape change poses opportunities and challenges for service providers. Get full deets at https://lnkd.in/gsH4YVF7! 🎬📈 #StreamingNews #FASTRising"

Despite high cost of living concerns, UK subscribers are now spending £696 (€826) on subscription apps and services every year — on top of standard bills such as TV, phone and broadband. Furthermore, 1 in 8 are paying more than £100 a month for their subscriptions, amounting to £1,200 per year. This is according to the European Subscription Wars report from Bango, which surveyed over 1,000 UK subscribers on their habits and attitudes towards streaming services and subscriptions. https://lnkd.in/e9_DYRQ4

The consumer TV landscape will always be led by the consumer, and as William Ullstein highlights in this analysis from YouGov, consumers are feeling the pinch from a fragmented market for content. As UK consumers chase affordable content, marketers, and their media agencies will chase key audiences to show them advertising messages in a medium that works - TV. (plenty of simple and straight-forward evidence on Thinkbox) TV planners in the UK have always been good at defining the best audiences to buy their clients current or future customers, but it is now harder to reach them, and the choice of audience targeting has increased. So how is the industry making it easier to connect the right audience to the right TV inventory? We are expecting the companies that make it easier to collaborate will help. Data collaboration is the new toolset. If you are interested in learning how UK brands are activating their audiences on Sky Media UK, or how Disney Advertising is using LiveRamp's Habu, or how NBCU Advertising & Partnerships is collaborating with brands on the Google Stack, feel free to ask! https://lnkd.in/en9WRCXV

What can we do with Rs.10 in this day and age? Buy a chocolate, maybe? Well, Pocket FM, a popular audio streaming platform, lets us listen to an episode for less than Rs. 10. I personally find it very cool. After having experimented with other, more conventional monetisation models, they launched coin packs which are charged at prices as low a Rs. 9. Their users can consume a certain number of free episodes in a day. When they have exhausted that limit, but still want to listen to the next episodes, they have to buy a coin pack which is priced at just Rs. 9. Very smart and effective. This monetisation model which could be interpreted as low-cost TVOD or micro subscription model works well in favour of both the user and the brand. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 ➡The micro payments are very affordable. ➡Minimal commitment when compared to monthly or yearly subscription plans or even other TVOD rentals.   ➡They are paying only for what they consume. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 ➡Lower barrier to entry. Users would be more willing to try the platform due to the lower costs involved.  ➡Better decision making. The brand can track the user’s content preferences, usage patterns and behaviours better and accordingly tailor the marketing messages.   ➡It improves user retention. They keep coming back for their quota of free episodes each day. What are your thoughts on this? #pricingstrategy #monetizationmodel #brandstrategy