Cost is Key For Streaming Services Plans

As major platforms like Netflix and Disney+ roll out cheaper subscription ad-supported tiers and crack down on password sharing, a new NPR/Ipsos poll reveals that consumers are focused on three important criteria when they make decisions about TV streaming services: cost, content and ease of use.

In a survey of 765 U.S. adults who use streaming services (which came from a nationally representative starting sample of 1,031 Americans), 92% of users say cost is an important factor in their decision to subscribe to a streaming service — followed closely by 87% who cited specific shows or movies in that decision. The poll has a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points, so results could be nearly 4 points higher or lower. The full data is at Ipsos.

When asked about important factors in their decision to cancel or drop a service, 91% note cost once again, followed by 83% who cite a change in content.

And when it comes to navigating all the options available for streaming content, 69% of users agree there are too many streaming services; 58% feel overwhelmed by the amount of content available.

"Cost is key...frankly, I think this speaks to the greater economic uncertainty felt by Americans right now," said Mallory Newall, vice president of public affairs at Ipsos, which conducted the poll.

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At the same time, these users are signaling there's such a thing as too much choice....The most attractive thing a streaming provider can do right now is be price-sensitive while also continuing to offer great content. And it's a bonus if they make it easy for their users to navigate their library or to bundle with other platforms."

Netflix will roll out a cheaper subscription tier on Nov. 1 that places ads inside its shows, followed by a similar option at Disney+ on Dec. 8. Poll results show these initiatives may be popular with consumers; 70% of respondents say having the ability to choose whether or not to have ads is an important factor in choosing a streamer.

But people were more evenly divided on the question of whether they would actually purchase such a subscription, with 51% of users still willing to pay a little more for an advertiser-free experience. (47% say they would pay less and watch ads.)

Seventy percent of streaming service users polled by NPR/Ipsos say they pay for all the services they subscribe to; those numbers are not far off from the results of a spring survey by Leichtman Research Group which said that one-third of Netflix subscribers share passwords. Only 3% of streaming subscribers in the NPR/Ipsos poll say they pay for no services and watch all their streaming TV by sharing passwords; 19% say they pay for most services but borrow passwords to watch some platforms.