A new study from HUB Research shows that viewers of streaming services are receptive to advertising, especially when it saves them money on subscriptions.
Users of streaming services are more willing to watch ads. That is, a full two-thirds of users have no problem with advertising as long as the ad reduces the price of their subscription. At least that's what a recent survey conducted by HUB Research shows. This is a significant turnaround in how viewers perceive streaming as well as TV ads.
It wasn't so long ago that streaming was characterised by the fact that for a subscription fee viewers would get the comfort of an undisturbed, ad-free viewing experience. However, as the industry has grown and costs have risen, the economics of the whole industry have proven simply not to be profitable, leading to rising prices. As subscribers cancelled their subscriptions, individual platforms began to offer the option of cheaper access at the cost of watching ads. And it paid off. Market leader Netflix reported some time ago that it already had 70 million such subscribers. And that's within two years of the introduction of the offer.
The HUB survey shows that while three years ago 42% of respondents would have been willing to pay for a subscription even if it became significantly more expensive, currently only 34% are. Conversely, 66% of users would be willing to watch ads, compared to 58% previously.
These results are an interesting signal not only for the streaming giants, but also for the rest of the TV market. This is especially so given the growing popularity of watching live streaming such as sports matches. These are perfect for adverts.
Commercial breaks in live broadcasts provide a welcome 'distraction' for many viewers. Particularly for live sports broadcasts, commercials are seen as part of the regular rhythm of the action. The positive reaction to commercials subsequently leads to more attention being paid to commercial breaks compared to on-demand programmes.
According to the HUB study, viewers most frequently cited rewards for watching when asked a series of questions about the characteristics of commercials that would gain their greater attention. It should be added, however, that the next three most frequently cited factors that led to attention-grabbing were associated with fewer commercials: shorter commercial breaks, shorter length of commercials, and or one commercial during a break.
Source: mediaguru.cz
