The streaming landscape is rapidly expanding, with over 2,000 streaming services vying for US consumers’ attention. This surge has not only increased content availability but also heightened competition and subscriber churn. Samsung Ads’ data shows that, for every active user on a streaming app, eight users churned last year. This poses a significant concern, complicating media planning and monetization.
However, the focus on churn misses the point. It’s a symptom of a deeper, more critical issue. To reduce churn, the industry should concentrate on building loyalty.
Loyalty is attainable. Samsung’s research has revealed a subset of TV watchers dubbed the “Super Loyals” audience – those who engage with at least one app for 10 or more months annually. Capturing these “Super Loyals” is mission critical, as they account for more than half of all streaming activity.
Drawing from Samsung’s recent study, “Streaming’s Loyalty Crisis,” here are key strategies to activate a more loyal audience, boosting both engagement and advertising value.
Audit viewing habits
The first step is understanding the viewing habits of the “Super Loyals” audience. While two-thirds of viewers demonstrate this level of loyalty, it’s only consistent across two or three apps.
Notably, only eight of the top 20 streaming apps can say that more than 25% of their total viewers are “Super Loyals.” By contrast, the majority of app users are more aptly described as “rental” audiences at constant risk of churn.
Notably, “Super Loyals” dominate in terms of time spent within apps.
Use data
In the streaming world, content is king, but data rules the kingdom. Unlike traditional TV, where loyalty was often driven by habit, streaming loyalty centers around content preferences. Brands will benefit from using tools that optimize reach data and find the “super loyal” viewer.
Choose partners that use AI for content discovery
According to Deloitte, 46% of consumers subscribe to a new service specifically to watch a single show or movie. If a platform can consistently deliver relevant content to audiences, these audiences are more likely to stay.
To stay competitive, brands should look for partners that use AI to personalize search and discovery, coupled with data-driven media strategies to promote their content to the right audiences at the right time, at scale – the approach we’ve taken here at Samsung.
Focus on usage, not just subscription numbers
Churn dominates industry chatter, but a more meaningful metric is app usage. If users aren’t regularly engaging with your app, they’re on a fast track to unsubscribing.
Overall, metrics like monthly active users (MAU) can be misleading, as an “active” user might spend just 30 minutes on the app each month and see only a few ads. Usage metrics like content completion rates, peak viewing hours, device usage, average view time and total hours watched are better indicators of media health.
Brand differentiation is key
While many consumers recognize the names of major streaming brands, there’s a significant gap in how these brands are perceived. According to HUB Entertainment Research, while most consumers are familiar with streaming brands, far fewer can confidently articulate what sets each apart.
To engage viewers, streaming apps must find new ways to build brand value and differentiate through content. Often, it comes down to creating a brand personality that resonates with audiences and delivering that positioning organically in key moments, such as when users are discovering new content to watch or apps to download.
Ultimately, loyalty is not rare – most viewers are regular app subscribers – but it is scarce. Before the streaming surge, media planning was predictable. That’s no longer the case.
To capture active, consistent audiences in today’s ever-changing landscape, the mission-critical metric is loyalty.
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