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Research: US users more likely to recommend OTT

November 29, 2018

US consumer data from research firm Parks Associates finds the average NPS (net promoter score) for traditional pay-TV providers in Q3 2018 is -19.

The study – 360 Deep Dive: Churn and Retention in Pay TV – notes this NPS represent a slight drop for pay-TV providers, which scored -15 in Q1 2018, although some providers such as Optimum and DISH improved their individual scores. By comparison, the average NPS for the major online pay-TV and OTT video services is positive, although their overall scores declined from 2017 to 2018. Net promoter score measures willingness to recommend a service and is widely used to assess consumer perception of services and providers.

“The percentage of US broadband households that do not subscribe to traditional pay-TV increased from 16 per cent in 2011 to 22 per cent in 2017,” said Brett Sappington, Senior Director of Research, Parks Associates. “With each quarterly earnings report, pay-TV providers and their stakeholders are hyperaware of variances in subscriber figures, and they are trying to reverse this trend with their own brands of OTT services as well as other value-added services. A positive NPS score for these services suggests a positive perception and strong word-of-mouth activity.”

“A key challenge for pay-TV providers is to design and launch services that will inspire loyalty among younger households,” Sappington advised. “Older consumers profess higher loyalty to pay-TV providers, whereas younger households are more likely to have an OTT service.”

Additional findings reveal:

  • 79 per cent of US broadband households reported having traditional pay-TV subscriptions in early 2018.
  • Approximately one third of pay-TV subscribers made a change to their service between Q1 2017 and Q1 2018.

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