Consumers are paying for fewer premium subscription streaming services and the ones they do buy they want bundled and to manage from one location.
These are the essential takeaways from Hub Entertainment Research’s “The Best Bundle” report, which polled 1,600 U.S. consumers, finding that only 52% of them currently pay for the “Big 7” premium U.S. SVODs: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+ and Peacock. Hub said last year, that benchmark stood at 61%.
Beyond the Trump tariffs and the related softening global economy, Hub cites other factors, including the availability of “free services like YouTube and Tubi.”
Increasingly, the research company said, consumers want the services they do pay for included in one centrally managed bundle — 70% of those surveyed said this option was at least “somewhat appealing.”
Meanwhile, Hub also found that while Netflix and Disney+ drive their own bundle on the strength of their value proposition and/or their library of exclusive content, most others are purchased because they efficiently ride along in the bundle.
Notably, that latter group includes the re-rebranded HBO Max, which just retreated to its earlier incarnation as a niche offering built around premium HBO content, versus the broader, more ambitious “something for everybody” platform parent company Warner Bros. Discovery had earlier sought for it to evolve into with ‘Max’.
“Package deal” was also listed as the leading acquisition reason cited by consumers for Hulu, which comes via the Disney Bundle, as well as Amazon Prime Video, which comes in a service bundle that includes free shipping of Amazon retail products. Being part of a package was also the top reason for HBO Max, which as of last year was available in a bundle with Hulu and Disney+.
Finally, Hub also found that those who purchase their SVODs through an aggregation service like Amazon Prime Video Channels or Roku Channels take, on average, nearly twice as many streaming subscriptions.
“Bundles and aggregation are the most important way that streaming platforms can compete with Netflix or YouTube,” said Jon Giegengack, Principal at Hub, in a statement. “But it’s critical to remember that the appeal of bundling goes beyond price. The biggest reason people like using aggregators like Amazon Channels is that they can discover and watch content from multiple services, all in one place.”