According to research by Parks Associates, 32% of OTT free trials convert to a paid subscription. More than a quarter of US broadband households trialled at least one OTT service in the previous six months. Of these users, 47% subscribed to at least one trial service after the free period ended.
Senior analyst, Glenn Hower spoke at the recent NAB Show in Las Vegas and presented new findings on the use of free trials among OTT services. He said that services such as Hulu and Netflix often offer a period of free service to new subscribers, with the aim of converting as many new subscribers into paying customers. He also pointed out that around 1% of consumers are serial triallers who abuse free trials to avoid paying for services. However, most consumers use trials for their intended purpose of trying out a service before deciding whether or not to subscribe.
Hower also made the point that while spending on transactional services has declined, average monthly spending on subscription OTT video has increased, and reached $7.95 per US broadband household in 2016. He also stated that most households build their services around at least one of the top three services, Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, which also have the most effective trial conversion rates.
Parks Associates and other industry leaders will address the evolving OTT landscape at the 21st annual conference, “Connections: The Premier Connected Home” in San Francisco, next month.
Parks found that trials lead to subscriptions
