US streamers are likely to see higher churn as a result of the strike

The major streaming platforms in the United States are likely to see higher churn as a result of perceptions about the impact of the SAG-AFTRA actors strike on original content, according to new research by Whip Media.

Based on how consumers perceive the potential impact of the ongoing strike, every major SVOD is likely to see higher churn if a strike significantly delays new US original programming, the study says. In fact, users of the most popular SVOD services in the United States are between 1.8 and 3.4 times more likely to cancel as a result of perceptions about the impact of the strike.

In particular, Paramount+, Peacock and Apple TV+ are likely to see the highest potential churn rates among streamers as a result of the strike, but other players will see bigger jumps in the number of those considering cancelling their service. Meanwhile, while Hulu started with among the lowest proportion of subscribers who said they might cancel, it saw the largest increase on that measure when people considered the impact of the strike on new US original programming.

At the same time, Netflix appears to be least vulnerable to the impact of the strike on delays in release of new US original programming, as it was the only service to see less than a 100% increase.

On the other hand, Whip Media’s data revealed that HBO Max could suffer less from the impact, as it has the highest customer satisfaction among comparable streaming products. In fact, more than 80% of HBO Max subscribers were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service, narrowly edging out Netflix in the same category.

At the same time, the majority of consumers surveyed by Whip Media said they felt there were too many subscription streaming options on the market. More than 85% of those who expressed this view said subscribing to different services was getting too expensive. Another 66% said they found it annoying to switch between apps all the time.

"With so much competition in the industry, churn is inevitable. But the number of people who are actually dropping their streaming services is still relatively low: just 3 out of 10 people surveyed by the company said they canceled a streaming service since last year,”  Whip Media said in its white paper.