Survey: Download-to-go drives streaming service loyalty

Results from a survey commissioned by Penthera, a creator of download-to-go (D2G) software for streaming video services, confirm that consumers see D2G as a valuable enhancement to streaming services.

Among the findings:

• More than one-third of 1,000 respondents reported that availability of D2G would make them more likely to subscribe and/or less likely to cancel a streaming video service.
• 56 per cent reported that they used the feature at least once in the last year, with more than half of that segment using it daily, weekly or monthly. (By comparison, 76 per cent streamed video in the last year).
• Usage of D2G is rising as more services offer it, but the industry needs to do more to communicate its availability. For example, one-third of the 700 Netflix subscribers who completed the survey either thought that Netflix didn’t offer D2G or didn’t know, even though Netflix has offered D2G since November 2016. Other services, some of which have been offering D2G even longer, had similar results.
• When asked to list advantages of D2G, half listed the ability to watch without an Internet connection.

“It is obvious that download-to-go enhances the consumer experience, and the survey results show that consumers will reward streaming services that offer it with more subscriptions and decreased churn,” said Dan Taitz, Penthera’s COO. “Download-to-go usage we see today is impressive given it has only recently become a standard feature of leading streaming video services and it is poised to grow as more video services add and market the feature.”

“The quickening pace of our company’s growth confirms the survey’s conclusion – download-to-go is a high-value proposition for streaming video services,” noted Michael Willner, Penthera’s CEO. “The importance of download-to-go will grow along with the expansion of smartphone penetration and mobile video consumption. Every year, more consumers watch more video on mobile devices, and every year the quality and quantity of both the devices and the video improves. These trends place enormous stress on the Internet and create challenges for the streaming video industry and its customers. Download-to-go helps address those challenges.”