Streaming Industry fights to deal with “quick churning”
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| 21 July 2023
Noting that the market is now “churning on a dime”, and on the heels of its June study showing consumers have become more careful in platform choice, Hub Entertainment research now believes that a significant number of streaming subscribers may have reached their peak.
Hub Ent res 21July2023
The analyst says that over the past several years, a seemingly endless supply of new original programming and the global pandemic encouraged consumers to build ever higher stacks of streaming platforms. Now in 2023, as workers return to the office and inflation takes a bite from disposable spending, it says consumers have become more judicious about their choice of platforms

In June, Hub surveyed consumers about their maximum number of video platforms. 22% said they didn’t have a maximum number in mind, and a third (35%) said they had a maximum but had not reached it yet. The biggest segment (43%) said they’re at their maximum number right now. But all three groups top out at roughly the same number: seven different sources, across all categories including free and paid, cable and streaming, live and on-demand.

More than 40% say that they’ve signed up for a subscription just to watch one show and 42% say they have signed up for a new platform, then dropped it within the first 6 months. This so-called quick churning” is especially common among some of the most important viewer segments. Almost 60% of viewers under 25 say they have dropped a new subscription soon after signing up while viewers who spend the most on TV are also more likely to “quick churn.” More than half of those with four or more paid TV subscriptions have dropped a new one soon after signing on.

Hub warned that the implications of “quick churning” were big. It found that the most common reason for quick churn was “I ran out of things to watch.” It added In the past, streamers could rely on a steady stream of high-budget originals to attract new viewers. Now, they have to maximise their ROI on every show – and more importantly, make sure that when viewers have watched the show they signed up to see, there’s something else queued up to hold their attention.

“Victory in the streaming wars had been defined by adding the most subscribers – usually via a firehose of flashy original content,” said Hub principal and founder Jon Giegengack commenting on the new research. “As we’re seeing viewers max out on subscriptions and content budgets contract, ‘job #1’ for streamers will be keeping subs engaged after the show they signed up to see is over.”