U.S. Consumers Seek OTT Service Bundles

A new study from Parks Associates has found that almost 60 percent of U.S. OTT subscribers would prefer to bundle their services in order to just receive one bill every month.

Home Service Bundles: OTT as a Value-Added Service found that 59 percent of OTT subscribers prefer one bill and one account for all of their home subscription services. In addition, 48 percent feel their home internet service provider adds more value when online video services subscriptions are offered.

“Simplicity has a fundamental appeal to consumers that service providers can leverage,” said Paul Erickson, research director at Parks Associates. “Consumers are seeing value and simplicity in receiving a bundle of channels and services from a single source, and they are increasingly seeking out options that offer OTT services bundled with their home services.”

The study also indicates that 40 percent of subs have all of their OTT services bundled through a home-service provider, while 31 percent report having no services bundled. Word of mouth and recommendations through family and friends are the main avenues for households to discover these bundling options.

“There is considerable demand for OTT bundles from service providers for the added simplicity, value, and convenience that consumers feel they receive,” Erickson added. “Verizon’s newly announced Verizon Plus Play, in partnership with Netflix and other services, is an example of service providers serving these consumer demands for simplicity and convenience via unified subscription management and billing for multiple OTT services. The addition of OTT services to service providers’ subscription and bundled service offerings is a viable way to add value, increase long-term ARPU, reduce subscriber churn and increase stickiness with consumers.”