Americans Are Canceling More of Their Streaming Services
It’s getting a lot harder for streaming services to hold on to their customers. Crystal Revis, a mother of six in Lynn Haven, Fla., recently canceled her subscriptions to Disney+ and Paramount+, among others, because of their swelling price tags and the rising cost of living.
She is also considering canceling Netflix, home to shows such as “The Crown" and films including “Leave the World Behind." Revis is among the consumers nationwide paring their streaming bills and getting more strategic about when they turn services on and off. Customer defections across premium streaming services rose to 6.3% in November, from 5.1% a year earlier.
About one-quarter of U.S. subscribers to major streaming services—a group that includes Apple TV+, Discovery+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock and Starz—have canceled at least three of them over the past two years, according to November data from subscription-analytics provider Antenna.
Two years ago, that number stood at 15%, a sign that streaming users are becoming increasingly fickle. “With the streaming services increasing their rates like they are, it’s like: ‘OK, do I pay for the cable?’ " Revis, who is in her 40s, said of deciding what home entertainment to select.
Under pressure to improve profitability and avoid having to reacquire users, streamers are trying a range of tactics to retain customers, from launching lower-cost ad-supported tiers of service, to teaming up with rivals on bundled deals and providing discounts or free months of service. Revis planned to cancel Hulu, home to shows such as “Faraway Downs" and “Only Murders in the Building," but decided to keep it because the service offered her six months of its ad-supported service for $2.99 a month, less
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