DALLAS — Global research firm Parks Associates reported this week the churn rate among all OTT services was a whopping 35% in 2019, an increase of 25% from 2018.
This was one statistic highlighted in a news release that announced Parks Associates will host a complimentary webcast “Driving Engagement and Reducing Churn in OTT” on Tuesday, March 17 at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. The webcast is being cohosted with Swrve, an enterprise customer engagement platform provider that helps brands scale personalized interactions over millions of customers in real time, the release says.
Topics to be addressed during the webcast include following:
- Key factors and trends driving OTT service engagement and customer churn
- Profiles of successful OTT providers
- Best practices of customer engagement strategies
Bob Strohmeyer, senior vice-president of global customer success for Swrve, will participate in the webcast, along with Steve Nason, director of research for Parks Associates, and Alexandra Viglione, product marketing director for Cinedigm, one of the largest independent distributors of film and TV content across all media platforms in the U.S.
Parks Associates’ consumer data notes churn among vMVPDs (virtual multichannel video programming distributors or online pay-TV providers) was 81% in 2019. However, more than two-thirds of vMVPD subscribers would find it difficult to give up at least one of their current subscriptions, so providers that offer the right mix of content, personalization and ease of use can secure very loyal subscribers, Parks Associates says in the news release.
“Overcoming high churn and driving engagement are notable challenges for video service providers, especially as the market becomes more saturated and penetration rates slow,” Nason says in the news release. “OTT services are offering free trials and promotional offers to drive initial service uptake, but these tactics are also leading to sky-high churn rates. To secure long-term subscriber fidelity, providers need to offer more, including original content and a personalized user experience.”
Included with the news release was a chart (pictured) showing the most common reasons for OTT churn based on responses from U.S. broadband households that cancelled at least one OTT service in the past 12 months. Approximately 30% of U.S. respondents said they cancelled because they needed to cut household expenses. A little more than 20% said they couldn’t find good programs to watch, while roughly 17-18% said either the OTT service had raised its price or the promotional price for the service ended.
