Netflix, Disney +: customers are increasingly unfaithful to streaming platforms

The period is very difficult for streaming platforms. While Netflix has been losing subscribers since the beginning of the year, the entire video-on-demand sector is facing a new threat: customer volatility.

In July, the average churn rate in the United States rose sharply to 5.46%. It was only 4.46% in July 2021 and 4.05% in July 2020. This data confirms that viewers are increasingly inclined to cancel their subscription once the content has been consumed, as the Wall showed. Street Journal earlier this year. Thus, only 55% of Americans who subscribed to Netflix in January were still subscribers this summer.

More and more completion

In France, the number of subscriptions per household has stagnated for a year. In the first quarter, the French had 1.9 subscriptions to streaming platforms. This is as much as in the first quarter of 2021. This figure has increased significantly since the end of 2019 (1.4 subscriptions) and the beginning of 2020 (1.6 subscriptions).

In a context of inflation, consumers no longer hesitate to suspend their subscription. Proof of the change in user behavior, the proportion of customers who have canceled at least three offers in the last two years continues to rise. In the United States it is 19% in July 2022, compared to 12% in July 2021 and 6% in July 2020.

This phenomenon can also be explained by the proliferation of streaming offers. Industry pioneer Netflix still sees competition getting fiercer. However, the health crisis and the accompanying lockdowns had benefited the sector. By November 2021, Netflix stock had even crossed the $700 mark, before sinking in April.

To counteract this lack of loyalty, the platforms activate some schemes. The most common is to split the broadcast of its series, premiering only one chapter per week. This is also the rule that Disney applies, while Netflix is ​​in a better position to directly offer complete seasons.

A renewal of services

To retain its subscribers, a services race is also underway. Netflix, for example, has opted for video games. The platform offers a catalog of exclusive titles to its users for free access. Acquisitions of development studies have also been made to strengthen this strategy.

Disney + for its part focuses on the strength of the licenses that the company has. Thus, the entertainment giant juggles between the Marvel or Star Wars universes to periodically offer new products to its subscribers. With, at the moment, always more subscribers to the appointment.

Amazon’s Prime Video platform has taken a different path. The service has become one of the issuers in Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 since last season. Until 2024, Prime Video offers eight matches from each of the French football competitions.

If the Disney group has also opted for competitive broadcasting, specifically through its ESPN+ platform, Netflix has told it that it will not embark on this type of program. However, the two competitors agree on another technique to keep viewers: the establishment of a subscription with advertising included.