'With Ads' video streaming subscribers watch less TV
It makes sense. UK streaming research firm Digital i has found that customers who are signed up to streamers on an ad-supported subscription tier are likely to watch less TV.
Netflix, with approx 17.6m ad-tier subscribers in the UK, has ad-plan subscribers watching an average of 22 minutes less content a day than those with an ad-free subscription - a difference of almost 22%.
Prime Video, with 12m UK users, found viewership was at 23 minutes less content – a difference of 44%.
Analyst Matt Ross says part of the reason is that the ad-supported plans offer subscribers fewer simultaneous streams.
But then there’s the obvious issue, which is that if you generally watch less TV/value TV less, you’re more likely to go for the lower feature, less expensive plans.
The above comes from an article in The Guardian, which goes on to talk about the reaction from unimpressed media buyers who were presented with a rate that was 50% more than competitors ITV or Channel 4, while offering a smaller audience, and more limited targeting capability.
“The rollout was a disaster,” says the chief executive of one media agency. “Take-up was underwhelming, to say the least. They had to try again six months later and lost their lead over rivals and are now behind the curve in terms of pricing, data and reach versus, say, Amazon.”
Amazon charges about the same as the public service broadcasters’ streaming services, while Disney+ charges more, despite having the smallest base of the big three US streamers, a situation the media executive describes as a “mad outlier, given their volume”.
News Desk
Friends recurring star Jessica Hecht says that she originally came in to audition to Monica, but was too tall for the part. Read: THR
Celine Song (Past Lives, Materialists) will write and direct a series currently in-development at HBO set in the world of esports. Read: Indiewire
We’ve heard recently about the ongoing talks between Network 10 and Sky News Australia to continue broadcast transmission in regional Australia. Similar talks have been underway surrounding transmission of Seven Network channels by the regional broadcaster WIN. A deal hasn’t been reached there, with WIN today announcing it will cease transmisison of Seven channels into the Riverland and Mount Gambier regions east and south-east of Adelaide and the area around the NSW town of Griffith. This takes effect from July 1. Read: AFR
Trailer Park
The third and final Squid Game debuts on Netflix June 27.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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