With Ad-Tolerance at an All-Time High, TiVo's Video Trends Report Finds Consumers Shifting Gears on TV Subscriptions

Today TiVo, a wholly owned subsidiary of entertainment technology company Xperi Inc. (NYSE: XPER), found in its Q4 2023 Video Trends Report that consumers are reevaluating how much they are spending on entertainment and the ways they enjoy it. With inflation top of mind for many, consumers are becoming more intentional about where they spend their dollars – especially as the number of video services options increases and content discovery continues to remain an issue. In 2023, the overall monthly spend on video services dropped by around $13, with users utilizing 4.0 non-paid services – doubling from 2.4 in 2021 – indicating ad-tolerance is at an all-time high (62.8%). The shift in reduced spending signals the entertainment industry’s emergence from a period of growth characterized by changes in TV viewing habits to a new period of stabilization.

In addition to the increase in ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) consumption, 20.0% of respondents shared that they feel they have too many services and 62.5% admitted to reducing their entertainment spend in light of recent economic inflation. In response to the industry shift from a growth to a profit mindset, and the change in consumer viewing behavior, video service providers started developing “hit” original series to draw in new subscribers and retain current customers. Even with these efforts, the gap between users adding and canceling subscription video on demand (SVOD) services has decreased by 4.4 percentage points as consumers are now canceling services almost as often as they are adding new ones. Consumers are showing they are not afraid to leave a service if they can’t justify the cost – making cost the leading reason for SVOD cancellations (21.3%). On the other hand, Pay TV churn risk declines as 63.7% of respondents are cord-revivers, resubscribing to Pay TV in the last 6 months, with 33.8% reporting that they couldn’t get all the entertainment they were looking for without it.

“The post-covid U.S. streaming market is maturing rapidly and we’re seeing OTT service providers raising subscription fees to test the limits of consumer entertainment budgets. This trend pushes consumers to balance their media diets (and pocketbooks) with FAST/AVOD services resulting in more churn, lower spend and increased use of non-paid services,” said Scott Maddux, VP of global content strategy and business at Xperi. “In the end this is a win-win, as major media companies are monetizing at both ends of the spectrum (subscription AND ad-supported) and consumers have more options.”