The annual American Customer Satisfaction Index of the telecommunications industry in 2024 has found that consumer satisfaction with streaming services hit an all time high while satisfaction with pay TV services and internet providers also grew.
The ACSI Telecommunications Study 2024 found that streaming satisfaction rose by 3% to 79 on a scale of 1 to 100, satisfaction with internet providers rose by 4% to 71 and satisfaction with pay TV services rose by 1% to 70.
The rising satisfaction rates found by the annual ACSI survey provides good news for an industry that has faced high levels of consumers canceling services, price hikes, a crackdown on password sharing, pricing strategies that force consumers into ad-supported tiers and ongoing financial losses.
The researchers said that the results indicate that streaming services are winning the TV battle as more consumers continue to cut the cord. While customer experience scores are generally higher across the board for streaming services compared to subscription TV, programming—and especially the original programming that streaming offers—is a key differentiator.
The only programming area where subscription TV dominates is sports programming.
In addition, it appears that consumers are getting used to life without cable TV as the satisfaction of those who no longer or never had subscription TV service has increased substantially. Despite the rosy outlook for streaming, cost concerns do seem to be forming on the horizon as ad-supported services show a rise in satisfaction.
ACSI results are based on surveys conducted over a 12-month period ending in March 2024.
Other key takeaways include:
- Customer satisfaction with internet service providers surges 4% year over year to a score of 71, with results varying by internet type. Fiber internet (76) proves far superior to non-fiber internet (68).
- Among fiber providers, AT&T again tops the list at 80, while several fiber ISPs land within 3 to 4 points of the leader.
- The non-fiber segment is led by 5G providers T-Mobile and Verizon, who significantly outpace the other non-fiber providers for satisfaction.
- Call center satisfaction lags significantly for both fiber and non-fiber providers, falling substantially below the other customer experience metrics.
- Despite losing subscribers for the 13th consecutive year, customer satisfaction for the pay TV industry remains relatively steady from last year.
- Verizon Fios is the leader among subscription TV services with an ACSI score of 75.
- Sports programming is a strength for subscription TV services compared to video streaming services.
- Video streaming customer satisfaction rises 3% from 2023 to an all-time high score of 79 in 2024.
- Although the occurrence of complaints declines in 2024, complaint handling worsens this year, down 6% to 68.
- Amazon Prime Video (82) is the highest-rated video streaming service, moving into sole possession of first place.
