Research: Aggregators valuable to consumers
July 26, 2022
Hub Entertainment Research’s annual Monetization of Video study, tracking which TV providers US consumers feel provide the best value, and which attributes make one provider more valuable than another, highlights the value of platforms that can simplify an ever-more complex TV ecosystem.
- Almost all who access all their providers in one place say it makes watching TV a better experience
Among those who consolidate access to multiple services through any kind of device (e.g., a cable box, a Roku, Amazon or Apple box, a smart TV etc.), 91 per cent say that having access to multiple services in one device makes their viewing experience better – with more than half (52 per cent) saying it makes the experience “a lot” better.
- The biggest benefit comes from aggregators that also simplify managing the sources themselves
When asked how aggregators improve the TV experience, the most common reason mentioned (39 per cent) is that it makes it easier to watch content across all their different sources. But for many, it also makes it easier to manage the subscriptions themselves: a third say they like the ease of adding new providers (34 per cent) or of pausing or cancelling them (31 per cent). And 33 per cent say they like the convenience of consolidating multiple subscriptions into one bill.
- Pay-TV providers have perhaps the most to gain
Eighty-seven per cent of pay-TV subscribers who watch streaming platforms through their set-top box say the ability to do that makes their pay-TV subscription more valuable. And almost half (48 per cent) say it’s a lot more valuable. Hub’s research showed similar results for derived value: among pay-TV subs who watch SVoDs through their set-top box, 70 per cent said their pay-TV subscription was an “excellent” or “good” value. Among pay-TV subs who don’t integrate their streaming platforms, it was only 50 per cent.
“There’s no question that the golden age of streaming has made TV more fun for consumers,” asserts Jon Giegengack, Principal at Hub and one of the study authors. “But it’s no fun trying to get the most out of that content when it’s spread across so many providers. Aggregators enable viewers to get something playing on the screen with as few clicks as possible. This is a big opportunity for pay -TV operators to reclaim their traditional role – only this time instead of bundling networks, they’re bundling platforms.”