DALLAS—New research reveals 40 million U.S. internet households trialed and subscribed to at least one over-the-top (OTT) service in the first half of 2021.
The research, “OTT: Perception, Use and Business Models,” from Parks Associates sought answers on how consumers use and perceive OTT services across different business models, what they thought about the content libraries of various services as well as their views on the features offered.
“Trials are an effective onboarding tool with 40 million households trialing and then subscribing to at least on service…,” said Eric Sorensen, senior contributing analyst at Parks Associates. “The more services consumers try, the more they are likely to subscribe to at least one. Consumers who frequently trial different services are highly engaged video consumers in general, so services need to cater to these users.”
About one out of two U.S. internet households have trialed at least on services, and 78% of those signed up for at least one. Although large OTT services like Disney+ and Netflix have discontinued trial offers, smaller services continue theirs and have found them to be an effective tool for winning customers in the highly competitive OTT market, Parks Associates said.
“Low cost barriers drive consumers to sign up for free trials, but the content will keep them,” said Sorensen. “All content creation efforts are focused on acquiring new customers and retaining those who are already subscribed by providing compelling content.”
More information is available on the research firm’s website.
