Rough Road for New Streamers?

You know all of those recent extended free trial offers from streaming services? Consumers don’t appear to be biting – at least not for now, according to analytics firm MarketCast.

The latest MarketCast Streaming Tracker (March 14 through March 27), based on data from “thousands” of subscribers, reveals that viewers “are less willing to add more paid streaming services to their spending mix in March 2020 than in previous months, and future spend is anticipated to be relatively flat.”

MarketCast found that streaming customers paid for an average of 2.2 services per month, flat from the previous month. Consumers, however, used an average of 3.2 streaming services (both paid and free) per month in March, “slightly higher than February.”

The trends do not bode well for such subscription streamers as HBO Max and Peacock, both slated to launch later this year.

“Our current data highlights the challenges facing new paid streaming services preparing to launch as consumer spending remains flat despite fans using more services than ever before,” said Ben Carlson, senior vice president of streaming and platforms at MarketCast.

Steaming Shows – What’s Hot

What are people streaming while cooped up at home?

According to the MarketCast Streaming Tracker’s Fandom Index, which combines streaming subscriber data with social sentiment analysis, Netflix dominates for viewership and fan engagement.

Netflix’s On My Block and Stranger Things, along with Disney+’s The Mandalorian, were among the top streaming series, along with Rick and Morty (available from Hulu with some episodes also via other streamers) and The Good Place (on Netflix with some episodes also from other sources).

Viewers were also feeling nostalgic for The Office on Netflix, apparently the most popular among “classic” shows, according to MarketCast.

You can learn more about the MarketCast Streaming Tracker at marketcast.com.