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Research: SVoD users would pay more to keep service

June 15, 2017

IBB Consulting, consulting firm guiding business and technology innovation at the convergence of media, broadband, and mobility, has revealed its latest insights into the market for paid OTT or SVoD services. In a survey of 1,051 US online consumer adults that subscribe to at least one paid OTT service, IBB found that a majority of SVoD subscribers (61 per cent) are willing to spend $2 or more to keep their favourite service and (81 per cent) are willing to spend to add a new service that had content they found interesting.

IBB Consulting’s latest research and analysis of the paid OTT market reveals engagement with SVoD, plans to add and spend on new services, and interest in live OTT subscription content. Additional key takeaways include:

  • More than half (51 per cent) of paid OTT users subscribe to more than one SVoD service, with 18 per cent paying for three or more;
  • Younger demographics, especially millennials, are more likely than any other demographic to subscribe to three or more paid OTT services;
  • Based on average SVoD pricing, a majority (61 per cent) of SVoD subscribers are willing to pay at least 20 per cent more for their favorite service;
  • Interest in live TV is strong, with nearly half (47 per cent) of paid streamers willing to pay beyond their current subscription costs to add live content,
  • Millennials are more likely than any other demographic to be willing to spend on live streaming content; and
  • 29 per cent of paid OTT video subscribers plan to add an additional paid service within the next six months.

“There is continued increasing demand for SVoD, and having the right tools and data to find and engage customers when they’re ready to buy is critical in this competitive market,” said Jonathan Weitz, partner, IBB consulting. “When IBB works with clients on SVoD marketing strategies, we emphasize that essential components of a world-class offering are a high-quality viewing experience with compelling features and an attractive interface, instant access to a diverse set of flagship content, and easily findable ancillary programming that feels familiar but offers new content to discover.”

 

As paid OTT users evolve in their willingness to seek out and buy new services, so does their viewing behavior and demands. When it comes to finding content, one-third of users say they prefer browsing and surfing, 24 per cent rely on suggestions from social media, 19 per cent get recommendations online and 13 per cent rely on either in-app recommendations or search tools.

 

“Almost half of consumers’ preferred discovery options require that OTT providers offer features that support a better experience,” said Weitz. “This means that in addition to improving how paid OTT providers market to new users, they must also take steps to ensure that offerings are easy to use. With constantly expanding libraries, strong human curation and effective recommendation engines driven by machine learning, in particular, are key to the overall SVoD customer experience.”

 

IBB Consulting advises media companies that a subscription OTT offering must either launch as a world-class offering or evolve quickly to meet this standard. Paid OTT services have the potential to become revenue centers that lay the foundation for future offerings.

 

Commenting on the demands of market competition, Weitz said, “Today, SVoD services must look incredible, function smoothly and deliver consistently outstanding customer experiences. And as OTT becomes more international, differentiation on a global scale is even more essential. This requires a solid marketing strategy for scaling user bases and mitigating churn. IBB recommends that SVOD services implement comprehensive plans that include span segmentation, programmatic, cross-channel attribution, email marketing, and push messaging and CRM.”

Categories: Articles, Consumer Behaviour, Equipment, OTT, Premium, Research, VOD