Vampire Subscriptions and the Loyalty Crisis: Samsung and Bango Reveal Troubling New Data for Streamers
New reports from Bango and Samsung Ads have revealed that not only are there continuing issues with subscription churn, but streaming app loyalty is also becoming alarmingly scarce, and subscribers are increasingly losing track of how much they spend on subscriptions each month.
Bango’s Super Bundling: Global Trends report surveyed over 15,000 subscribers from around the world on the top 10 issues affecting the subscription landscape.
The report provided insights into:
- Why 44% of Americans have a “Vampire Subscription” — long-forgotten subscriptions that drain money without consumers realizing
- The proliferation of “Forever Subscriptions,” a service that users never pause or cancel, with three-quarters of Americans reporting at least one
- The demand for all-in-one subscription platforms, and why over two-thirds (68%) of LATAM subscribers would spend more time using their subscriptions if a content hub was available
The challenges of creating all-in-one subscription hubs
Anil Malhotra, CMO at Bango, provided further insight into these findings. Regarding the substantial evidence that all-in-one subscription hubs are popular with users across regions, along with the ways they will help to eliminate the issue of “vampire subscriptions,” Malhotra addressed some of the hurdles preventing the creation of more of these hubs, despite the demand for them.
“Actually creating these hubs is not as straightforward as it may sound,” Malhotra said. “Perhaps the biggest hurdle lies in the complexities of partnership negotiations. Content providers are rightfully protective of their IP and their business, which means that bringing multiple content providers under one platform requires negotiation over licensing agreements, revenue sharing, integration terms, and more.”
Why bundling services are easier to create in the U.S.
However, with services such as Verizon +play, there have been some promising developments on the bundling front in the U.S.
“The U.S. has some unique market conditions that have accelerated the growth of bundling in the region,” Malhotra said. “U.S. telcos have established strong, broad customer bases with existing billing relationships, making it significantly easier to incorporate third-party services into their offerings.
The culture of early technology adoption and advanced infrastructure have allowed streaming bundling to thrive in the U.S. when compared to other countries. “[This has created] an ideal environment for services like Verizon +play to flourish,” Malhotra said. “Half (50%) of U.S. subscribers prefer their mobile operator as the platform to manage all their subscriptions, and 61% indicate they would be willing to pay more for such a service?. This demand also aligns with growing subscription fatigue, as 49% of U.S. subscribers express frustration that they can’t manage all of their subscriptions in one place, while 35% frequently pause and restart different services to better manage costs and access."
Streaming’s loyalty crisis
Samsung Ads’ latest industry report, Streaming Index: Streaming’s Loyalty Crisis, showed that churn isn’t the only hurdle streamers face as streaming app loyalty is becoming alarmingly scarce. In fact, the report found only eight of the top 20 apps have “Super Loyal” audiences that comprise more than 25% of their total viewers.
Key findings on Streaming’s Loyalty Crisis include:
Streaming app loyalty is not rare but scarce:
- Majority of Samsung audiences (64%) are “Super Loyal,” – meaning they use at least 1 app for the majority 10/12 months span
- While Super Loyals use nearly 8 apps that are only loyal to fewer than 3 apps
- Just 8 of the top 20 apps have Super Loyal audiences that comprise more than 25% of their total viewers
- Despite their limited numbers, Super Loyals are responsible for half of all minutes streamed, making them crucial to any app's success
Most app users are “rental” audiences—occasional viewers at constant risk of churn:
- Semi-loyal streamers make up 8% of the total audience: these streamers use at least 1 app for 7-9 months out of 12
- Non-loyal Streamers make up 17% of the audience: these streamers do not use any app for more than 6 out of 12 months, making them inconsistent and the most unreliable
Subscription does not equal usage:
- Advertisers who count on past viewing data to predict future audience availability must rethink their streaming strategy.
- Increasing costs across undifferentiated apps are what ultimately drives churn
Why compelling content drives “Super Loyalty”
Justin Fromm, Head of Insights, Samsung Ads, shared further insights into Streaming’s Loyalty Crisis. When asked if Samsung had found any data into what makes some users “Super Loyal,” Fromm said, “From our data, Super Loyal viewers use nearly eight apps but are actually loyal to fewer than three. With streaming being so content-oriented, we see viewers tend to seek out the latest show and have little loyalty to the apps the shows appear on – which is why content availability is king. The primary driver of consumer adoption of any TV service is a compelling content offering and ease of use.”
How “Semi-Loyal” users can progress towards “Super-Loyal”
Fromm further elaborated on the ways in which viewers can evolve from “semi-loyal” to “super loyal,” along with why “non-loyal” viewers primarily represent the last remnants of users watching linear broadcasting.
“Semi-Loyal and Non-Loyal viewers are in different stages of streaming adoption,” Fromm said. “Semi-Loyal users are exploring the diversity of content on streaming but still spend most of their time with linear. The move of news and sports - the last great stalwarts of broadcast TV - to FAST and AVOD will encourage these viewers to move more of their time there. Non-Loyal viewers use streaming as a digital DVR for their preferred linear content. These viewers may be the last ones standing in the broadcast space as it continues to contract.”
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