Global Streaming Market Faces Turbulence Amid Subscriber Shake-Ups
Simon-Kucher’s 2024 Global Streaming Study reveals that streaming services face unprecedented demand for unique content opportunities
[London, July 8th, 2024] – Simon-Kucher, a leading global growth consultancy, has released its 2024 Global Streaming Study. Showing increased screentime and more subscriptions per user, the study finds that the global streaming market remains strong. Significant shifts are visible in subscription dynamics and content preferences, with meaningful implications for the UK streaming market.
“The streaming market is at a really interesting place at the moment,” said Greg Harwood, Partner at Simon-Kucher. “The number of subscriptions per person in the UK increased by 24 percent since last year but overall budgets remained flat. While there’s still demand for streaming services, a significant share of subscribers feel that they spend too much on streaming and that they have too many streaming subscriptions. Despite slower growth, the increase in paid subscriptions and demand for unique content creates a real opportunity for providers to innovate and differentiate themselves.”
Key Findings:
Growth Trends:
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The UK streaming market is still expanding, but at a slower pace. Eight percent fewer users are increasing their streaming consumption compared to last year’s study. Compared to the Streaming Study 2023, the UK recorded the largest decline in respondents who stream 'more’ out of the 12 countries surveyed.
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Paid subscriptions now account for 53 percent of streaming time. This is up by six percentage points from last year. Use of free online services has decreased by six percentage points.
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In the UK, 38 percent of subscribers plan to cancel at least one subscription in the next 12 months. This is an increase of 10 percentage points from 2023, an increase 2nd only to China. Half of respondents who intend to churn stated that content they wanted to watch (or the lack of it) drove their decision.
Social Media Impact:
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31 percent of respondents replace potential streaming time with social media. This rises to 51 percent among 18 – 39-year-olds.
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When it comes to the appeal of social media, short-form content is streaming’s biggest competitor – nearly 40 percent of respondents say they find it as entertaining as streaming series/movies.
Subscription Dynamics:
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The average number of streaming subscriptions per person rose 25%, from 2 to 2.5. Part of this rise is likely the result of password-sharing restrictions implemented by major players like Netflix and Disney+. The average UK streamer still has fewer subscriptions than most of those in other countries – the global average is 3.0 paid subscriptions per person.
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However, customers in the UK are willing to spend more per subscription – customers reported a willingness to pay up to £27 per month for all streaming subscriptions, higher than the global average of £19 and the European average of £22.
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As in many geographies, ‘subscription fatigue’ is significant, with 34 percent of subscribers feeling that they have ‘too many’ subscriptions.
Market Differentiation:
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Broad content selection remains the most important value driver for UK consumers when it comes to choosing a streaming subscription.
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The major international streaming providers are perceived similarly in value and price across almost all geographies, and it’s the same in the UK market. This is where a laser focus on content comes in, which can provide a competitive edge and serve as a primary differentiator for providers.
Commercial Levers:
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There has been significant growth in the number of UK subscribers on ad supported packages, and there is still room to optimize how advertising is served to these subscribers. Additionally, ad supported packages remain an effective lever to prevent churn of price sensitive subscribers, even more so when advertisements are personalized.
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Adding gaming to streaming packages shows potential, with 25 percent of UK streamers being more inclined to sign up for a streaming service subscription if games were included. While globally, the proportion of people interested in packaged streaming and gaming services has fallen 3 percentage points since 2023, interest in the UK has actually grown by 4 percentage points.
“The streaming landscape is continuously evolving, and content remains the primary differentiator,” added Harwood. “Providers must strategically adapt to these trends. They need robust content offerings capitalizing on new commercial levers to stay competitive and cater to shifting consumer preferences.”
Complete study findings are available upon request, including country splits.
*About the Study: The Global Streaming Study 2024 was conducted April - May 2024 by the global consultancy Simon-Kucher. More than 12,000 consumers from across 12 countries (Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, UK, US) were surveyed on their streaming behaviors and preferences.
Janine McCormac
janine.mccormac@simon-kucher.com
Simon-Kucher is a global consultancy with more than 2,000 employees in 30 countries. Our sole focus is on unlocking better growth that drives measurable revenue and profit for our clients. We achieve this by optimizing every lever of their commercial strategy – product, price, innovation, marketing, and sales – based on deep insights into what customers want and value. With nearly 40 years of experience in monetization topics of all kinds, we are regarded as the world’s leading pricing and growth specialist.