Oversaturated: US consumers also save on streaming subscriptions

The average US citizen spends 42.38 US dollars per month on streaming subscriptions, which extrapolates to around 509 US dollars per year and around 30,514 US dollars over the course of their lifetime. This is according to the annual status report on consumer spending on media consumption recently published by Reviews.org. It sounds like a comparatively large amount that US users spend on watching series and films on Netflix, Disney+, Hulu & Co. But it is 23 percent less than in 2023.

The drop in spending may sound surprising at first given the increase in relevant services, with some favorite shows suddenly migrating to other platforms. However, according to the survey of 1,000 people, a total of 27.8% of US consumers report "streaming fatigue". This is what market observers call the feeling of being overwhelmed by the increasing number of streaming apps.

According to the report, watching videos has generally become a "popular American pastime". The average US consumer uses 2.2 streaming services and watches 3 hours and 49 minutes of video every day. By comparison, television consumption in this country in 2022 in the 14 to 19 age group averaged 30 minutes a day, while the viewing time for the over 65s was over 5.8 hours.

Willingness to pay for Netflix & Co. is also declining in this country

According to the report, 26.5% of US users shared their streaming accounts with third parties last year to save costs. However, due to recent measures against password sharing, this may soon no longer be an easily available option. Reviews.org recommends that money savers reduce the number of subscriptions and spend more time with free streaming services. A lot of money can be saved if you only sign up to a platform temporarily to watch a certain show or movie and then cancel again.

According to the industry association Bitkom, users of streaming services in Germany spent an average of 15.70 euros per month in 2023. In 2022, this figure was still EUR 17.90 during the coronavirus pandemic. The willingness to pay for Netflix & Co. has therefore also fallen in this country.

"Cord-cutting" continues

Media consumption habits in Germany and the USA are different in many respects. This is also because most US households received cable TV as standard for decades. Fees of 100 US dollars per month were normal. For some years now, however, more and more US citizens have been doing without cable TV and only receive broadband Internet. They are called "cord-cutters" and are dependent on streaming services. Time Warner only launched a paid online service for video on demand under its HBO brand in 2015. This was considered a minor revolution, as HBO pay-TV was previously only available in combination with a cable connection or via satellite.

Streaming has not yet quite reached the popularity of linear TV, reports Reviews.org. 40.6 percent of US consumers still have a cable TV subscription, while 14.3 percent subscribe to satellite TV. The average cable TV subscription costs 89.29 US dollars per month. Fiber optic connections cost an average of USD 81.27 per month, while DSL Internet is available for an average of USD 58.61.

(nie)