Vampire Subscriptions and the Loyalty Crisis: Samsung and Bango Reveal Troubling New Data for Streamers
New reports from Bango and Samsung Ads have revealed that not only are there continuing issues with subscription churn, but streaming app loyalty is also becoming alarmingly scarce, and subscribers are increasingly losing track of how much they spend on subscriptions each month.
Bango’s Super Bundling: Global Trends report surveyed over 15,000 subscribers from around the world on the top 10 issues affecting the subscription landscape.
The report provided insights into:
- Why 44% of Americans have a “Vampire Subscription” — long-forgotten subscriptions that drain money without consumers realizing
- The proliferation of “Forever Subscriptions,” a service that users never pause or cancel, with three-quarters of Americans reporting at least one
- The demand for all-in-one subscription platforms, and why over two-thirds (68%) of LATAM subscribers would spend more time using their subscriptions if a content hub was available
The challenges of creating all-in-one subscription hubs
Anil Malhotra, CMO at Bango, provided further insight into these findings. Regarding the substantial evidence that all-in-one subscription hubs are popular with users across regions, along with the ways they will help to eliminate the issue of “vampire subscriptions,” Malhotra addressed some of the hurdles preventing the creation of more of these hubs, despite the demand for them.
“Actually creating these hubs is not as straightforward as it may sound,” Malhotra said. “Perhaps the biggest hurdle lies in the complexities of partnership negotiations. Content providers are rightfully protective of their IP and their business, which means that bringing multiple content providers under one platform requires negotiation over licensing agreements, revenue sharing, integration terms, and more.”
Why bundling services are easier to create in the U.S.
However, with services such as Verizon +play, there have been some promising developments on the bundling front in the U.S.
“The U.S. has some unique market conditions that have accelerated the growth of bundling in the region,” Malhotra said. “U.S. telcos have established strong, broad customer bases with existing billing relationships, making it significantly easier to incorporate third-party services into their offerings.
The culture of early technology adoption and advanced infrastructure have allowed streaming bundling to thrive in the U.S. when compared to other countries. “[This has created] an ideal environment for services like Verizon +play to flourish,” Malhotra said. “Half (50%) of U.S. subscribers prefer their mobile operator as the platform to manage all their subscriptions, and 61% indicate they would be willing to pay more for such a service?. This demand also aligns with growing subscription fatigue, as 49% of U.S. subscribers express frustration that they can’t manage all of their subscriptions in one place, while 35% frequently pause and restart different services to better manage costs and access."
Streaming’s loyalty crisis
Samsung Ads’ latest industry report, Streaming Index: Streaming’s Loyalty Crisis, showed that churn isn’t the only hurdle streamers face as streaming app loyalty is becoming alarmingly scarce. In fact, the report found only eight of the top 20 apps have “Super Loyal” audiences that comprise more than 25% of their total viewers.
Key findings on Streaming’s Loyalty Crisis include:
Streaming app loyalty is not rare but scarce:
- Majority of Samsung audiences (64%) are “Super Loyal,” – meaning they use at least 1 app for the majority 10/12 months span
- While Super Loyals use nearly 8 apps that are only loyal to fewer than 3 apps
- Just 8 of the top 20 apps have Super Loyal audiences that comprise more than 25% of their total viewers
- Despite their limited numbers, Super Loyals are responsible for half of all minutes streamed, making them crucial to any app's success
Most app users are “rental” audiences—occasional viewers at constant risk of churn:
- Semi-loyal streamers make up 8% of the total audience: these streamers use at least 1 app for 7-9 months out of 12
- Non-loyal Streamers make up 17% of the audience: these streamers do not use any app for more than 6 out of 12 months, making them inconsistent and the most unreliable
Subscription does not equal usage:
- Advertisers who count on past viewing data to predict future audience availability must rethink their streaming strategy.
- Increasing costs across undifferentiated apps are what ultimately drives churn
Why compelling content drives “Super Loyalty”
Justin Fromm, Head of Insights, Samsung Ads, shared further insights into Streaming’s Loyalty Crisis. When asked if Samsung had found any data into what makes some users “Super Loyal,” Fromm said, “From our data, Super Loyal viewers use nearly eight apps but are actually loyal to fewer than three. With streaming being so content-oriented, we see viewers tend to seek out the latest show and have little loyalty to the apps the shows appear on – which is why content availability is king. The primary driver of consumer adoption of any TV service is a compelling content offering and ease of use.”
How “Semi-Loyal” users can progress towards “Super-Loyal”
Fromm further elaborated on the ways in which viewers can evolve from “semi-loyal” to “super loyal,” along with why “non-loyal” viewers primarily represent the last remnants of users watching linear broadcasting.
“Semi-Loyal and Non-Loyal viewers are in different stages of streaming adoption,” Fromm said. “Semi-Loyal users are exploring the diversity of content on streaming but still spend most of their time with linear. The move of news and sports - the last great stalwarts of broadcast TV - to FAST and AVOD will encourage these viewers to move more of their time there. Non-Loyal viewers use streaming as a digital DVR for their preferred linear content. These viewers may be the last ones standing in the broadcast space as it continues to contract.”
Related Articles
At Streaming Media Connect, Media Cartographer Evan Shapiro sat down for virtual a fireside chat with Justin Evans, Head of Innovations & Insights, Samsung Ads to discuss the importance of data in advertising, the role of Samsung Ads in the streaming revolution, and the introduction of a new product called Optimal Reach.
14 Nov 2024
In a U.S. market first, Capital One has partnered with Minna Technologies to offer new subscription management tools directly in the bank's mobile app, enabling its credit card customers to view and manage subscriptions from major merchants, including leading streaming media, publishing and retail brands.
24 Oct 2024
Joe Rohrlich, CEO of subscription management platform Recurly, works with subscription brands like BarkBox, Scentbird, and Twitch. He discusses how the current status of the economy may affect customers' propensity to spend in subscriptions, the tactics used by subscription businesses to differentiate themselves in the crowded market, and the benefits of using subscription models to rethink consumer brand loyalty for diverse industries.
18 Oct 2024
Damien Organ, VP of Product Marketing at Cleeng, outlines ways to more deeply understand the power of strategic retention policies and how to activate them to create lasting subscriber relationships.
02 Oct 2024
Preventing subscriber churn is the oldest problem in the streaming subscription business, and bundling is hardly a new solution, as analyst Paul Erickson points out in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2024. So with a purported "Great Rebundling" upon us—and with tiered offerings, hybrid ad models, and other revenue-generating approaches increasingly holding sway—how do contemporary bundling/rebundling strategies differ from old ones and offer greater avenues to success? Ampere Analysis' Guy Bisson, Hub's Jon Giegengack, and Antenna's Rameez Tase offer their takes on current bundling and aggregation strategies and which ones are working in 2024.
27 Sep 2024
In 2024, consumer behavior arguably remains the most vexing impediment to succeeding with subscription media, and the prevalence of churn and the abundance of competition for subscription dollars have compelled many providers of subscription services to bolster their revenue with ad-supported tiers. However, creative bundling strategies provide another effective means of keeping subscription services afloat, to the degree that the industry might be developing "bundle-itis." Experts from Roku, Philo, Bango, Hub Entertainment Research, and Lightswitch discuss the mechanics and benefits of bundling in this clip from Streaming Media NYC.
15 Aug 2024
Ian Greenblatt and Carl Lepper of J.D. Power discuss how streaming service providers face new challenges moving into 2023 as the industry faces headwinds driven by rising inflation, the prospects of a global recession, and an arms race of content spending in the service of customer acquisition.
11 Jan 2023