According to the report, Peacock, Apple TV+, and Epix Now were found to be the least essential services.
Two-thirds of Netflix users view the service as “indispensable” to meeting their household needs, according to research by Aluma Insights.
Hulu and Disney+ were the only other top-16 services in which more than half of subscribers considered the service ‘essential’. Conversely, Epix Now, Apple TV+, and Peacock were found to be the least essential services.
Aluma found that in 2022 SVOD households spent on average $43.25 per month on the services, up significantly from 2020 but mostly stable compared with 2021. However, between 2020 and 2022, the percentage of SVOD buyers open to spending more declined from 14% to 8%, while the percentage who planning to reduce these expenses increased from 17% to 25%.
Commenting on the findings of the report, Michael Greeson, Founder of Aluma Insights, said: “This is a one way of comparing a service’s utility with that of its competitors. It says to some owners you’ve a bit more latitude when it comes to revenue optimisation measures, such as cracking down on freeloading or increasing retail prices. It says to others there is great risk in significantly altering prices or service terms.”
According to the research outfit, the results suggest that Disney boss Bob Iger’s contention that raising the price of its ad-free option caused minimal losses is convincing, while Comcast’s plans for Peacock may be flawed.
Aluma expects both Disney+ and Hulu standalone prices will increase by around 15% during 2023.
Though Peacock enjoyed a 28% increase in paid subscribers during 2022, only one-third of them consider the service essential. Even as it works to improve its library, Peacock’s owner Comcast is eliminating the service’s free ad-supported tier and is phasing out complimentary service for Xfinity subscribers. While the company has a great deal of confidence it can convert these users to paid subscribers, Aluma Aluma analysts doubt this will be the case given how few current subscribers consider the service essential.
“As buyers move closer to their SVoD spending limits, less essential services will have a difficult time optimizing revenue without enduring sizeable subscriber losses,” concluded Greeson.
