Too much of a good thing? Streaming service customers report that the abundance of content and hidden fees is causing frustration and subscription fatigue.
In fact, a new survey of 2,000 US streaming service subscribers revealed that the average person spends 110 hours a year scrolling through streaming services, struggling to find something worth watching – which comes down to “too much content, Too little time” is a stark reminder of the dilemma.
commissioned by user testing And conducted by Talker Research, the study revealed that one in five believe it is harder to find something to watch today than it was 10 years ago.
According to him, the underlying reason is being overwhelmed with too much content.
Many had difficulty having a large content library (41%) and felt that too much original content was being produced (26%).
Although 75% appreciate the streaming service’s algorithm providing them with accurate recommendations, 51% acknowledged that the amount of recommended content is too much, explaining that they want to watch everything recommended to them.
Nearly half (48%) no longer have traditional cable. Those who choose a streaming platform do so because they like variety (43%), the shows they want to watch aren’t on cable (34%), and they find streaming more convenient for watching on the go. Are (29%).
However, people are generally dissatisfied with the current streaming services available. In fact, 51% would rather have more streaming service options – even if those options include ads.
When asked what their “dream” streaming platform would look like, top features included premium channels and networks at no additional cost (40%) and an easy to navigate interface (39%).
Additionally, 52% said a platform’s user interface plays a large or important role in their decision to subscribe.
The average person said all of the above should be available for no more than $46 per month – although 11% admitted they would willingly pay more than $100 per month for the service.
“The streaming landscape has evolved from solving the problem of content accessibility to creating a new challenge of content discovery,” said Bobby Meixner, senior director of industry solutions at UserTesting. “Our research shows that despite advanced recommendation algorithms, viewers are spending almost a full five days each year deciding what to watch – time that could be spent actually enjoying the content.”
The study also found that streaming subscribers faced a number of frustrations.
79% expressed frustration with streaming services requiring additional subscription fees for select content.
When faced with those additional charges, the majority (59%) are unlikely to pay and would instead look for content on a different platform to which they are subscribed (73%), leave and watch something else (77%) %) or would consider canceling their subscription altogether (37%). Nearly one in five (19%) will sign up for a free trial of a platform to find a show they want to watch.
Respondents also showed disdain for platforms pulling shows without notice, which has a direct impact on loyalty.
In the past year, 69% opened a streaming service at least once only to find that the show they were looking for no longer exists.
Forty-four percent said they would likely cancel their subscription to a streaming service and subscribe to a new service to continue watching a favorite show, and 56% would cancel that subscription as soon as they finished watching said show.
But when canceling, nearly a quarter (23%) have experienced difficulties, claiming it’s hard for them to find a cancellation option on the platform’s website (39%) or that the cancellation process takes multiple steps (36%). It was extremely complicated.
Bobby Meixner added, “We’re seeing a fundamental shift in how streaming platforms need to think about user experience.” “With 52% of customers saying interface design significantly influences their subscription decisions, and 79% being frustrated by hidden fees, streaming services must balance content abundance with accessibility and transparency to maintain customer loyalty.” will be.”
Survey Method:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 US adults who subscribe to at least one streaming service; The survey was launched by UserTesting and administered by Talker Research and conducted online between November 2 and November 7, 2024.
