BOSTON—Whether they get their TV from an Apple TV, Firestick TV, Roku, smart TV or simple cable box, viewers want their options simplified and better managed, according to a new report from Hub Entertainment.
According to Hub’s annual “Monetization of Video” study, 91% of survey respondents say accessing multiple streaming subscriptions makes the experience better, with 52% saying it makes the experience “a lot” better.
Hub said that for 39% of respondents, these “aggregators” make it easier for them to watch content from all of their different sources. One third (34%) say they like the ease of adding new providers or of pausing or cancelling them (31%), and the remaining third say they like the convenience of consolidating multiple subscriptions into one bill.
Eighty-seven percent 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%) 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% 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%.
When asked how aggregators improve the TV experience, the most common reason mentioned (39%) is that it makes it easier to watch content across all of 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%) or of pausing or cancelling them (31%). And 33% say they like the convenience of consolidating multiple subscriptions into one bill.
“There’s no question that the golden age of streaming has made TV more fun for consumers,” said 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.”
Hub’s 2022 “Monetization of Video” was conducted among 1,610 US consumers age 16-74. All respondents have broadband and watch at least 1 hour of TV per week. The data was collected in June 2022.
