32 Million U.S. Homes “Service Hop”

About 36 percent of OTT subscribers in the U.S.—some 32 million households—are “service hoppers,”according to new Parks Associates data, canceling and resubscribing to services multiple times.

Data-Based Decision Making for Video Services also indicates that subscribers are less likely to sign up to services from operators’ websites. The percentage of households subscribing directly via an OTT provider’s website declined from 41 percent to 29 percent between Q1 2020 and Q3 2021. Homes are now taking multiple paths to video subscription, including through OTT aggregators.

“Data collection and analysis offer new ways to attract and retain viewers, optimize revenue and create new value,” said Elizabeth Parks, president and CMO at Parks Associates. “Data allows vendors to identify subscribers at risk of churn and can even tag the ‘server hoppers’ who will jump in and out of services no matter what, so that providers do not waste resources chasing them in vain. Advanced data tools help companies make more informed decisions about the content and structure of their services and special offerings.”